Antismoking website launched

Antismoking website launched

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the
Ministry of National Education and the World Health Organization
(WHO), launched a website on Monday for school students as part
of a campaign for the free tobacco movement.

"With the website, it is expected that students can
communicate (with their peers), obtain facts, information and
education on everything related to smoking," head of the national
education ministry's research and development division Boediono
said.

Boediono also said that students were expected to invite
friends and family members to use the websites to find facts
about the risks and dangers of smoking.

The newly launched websites are http://www.bebasrokok.com and
its English version, http://www.ash-free.com.

Designed by PT Dhaft Buana Informatika and funded by WHO, the
website would later be managed by the national education
ministry.

In the website, browsers could find articles among others, on
why people smoke, the effect of smoking on health, and types of
poisons inside a cigarette. Website visitors could also join in a
discussion forum.

Boediono claimed that the antismoking campaign would be
effective if it was targeted toward students who had not started
to smoke yet or who were curious about it.

"... I receive reports that smoking begins mostly among school
students, either at junior high or senior high school. Therefore
our website is designed for their age group with humorous logos
and simple language so that they are easily able to assimilate
the information," Boediono remarked.

Data from WHO showed that in 2000, around 1.1 billion people
or one third of the world population, above the age of 15, were
smokers.

The number of Indonesian smokers is believed to have reached
141 million.

The government has named schools nonsmoking areas.

A government-endorsed smoke-free advocacy group is launching a
nationwide campaign to persuade companies to declare a smoke-free
environment in connection with the World No Tobacco Day which
fell on May 31. (emf)