Celebrities told to support antitobacco drive

Celebrities told to support antitobacco drive

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The latest survey on the smoking habits of high-school
students should be a matter of concern to all: 42 percent of
2,047 students surveyed in Jakarta admitted to being active
smokers, 43.9 percent said they had tried smoking and 13.6
percent said they had never tried it but would do so next year.

Regardless of the validity of the survey, smoking has long
been a fundamental part of teenagers' lives here. The World
Health Organization (WHO) has reported that the number of smokers
is increasing, especially among young people in developing
countries.

To some extent, films and fashion, as the two areas of life of
greatest interest to most teenagers around the globe, are
believed to have fostered smoking as a lifestyle activity aspired
to by juveniles.

"In films and fashion, smoking is perceived as a desirable
lifestyle activity more than ever, which makes it attractive to
teenagers," Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi told a media
conference on an antitobacco campaign here on Monday.

On the upcoming No Tobacco Day on May 31, Indonesia has chosen
Free Tobacco from Film and Fashion as a theme, which is expected
to support the global theme Tobacco-Free Film and Tobacco-Free
Fashion, Action!.

Chief representative of the WHO in Indonesia George Peterson
said the UN body had urged the film and fashion industries to
stop being vehicles of death and disease.

"Through the selection of this theme, the WHO is calling on
the entertainment and fashion industries to stop promoting a
deadly product and to recognize their social responsibility," he
said.

Film and fashion stars are modern heroes, he said, and the way
they spoke, ate and drank greatly influenced public behavior and
preferences.

Another survey conducted by pulmonologist from Persahabatan
Hospital, East Jakarta, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, showed that of 126
Indonesian celebrities, 38 percent of the men surveyed were
active smokers, while the percentage for women reached 62
percent.

Some 100 of the celebrities contacted were TV series or film
stars, while the rest were models, singers or TV presenters.

"The number of smoking women celebrities is very high when
compared with the percentages in the family health survey carried
out by the Ministry of Health," said Tjandra.

The latest family health survey, carried out every five years
in several provinces in the country, with hundreds of thousands
of respondents, revealed that only 4.83 percent of women were
smokers. This means the proportion of celebrity women smokers is
about 13 times higher than that of ordinary women.

Last week, 192 member countries of WHO adopted the Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which aims to secure
agreement on restrictions on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and
promotion.

Indonesia was among the signatories. However, the issue might
pose a dilemma here as the tobacco industry is still one of the
largest national taxpayers, and also employs tens of thousands of
Indonesian citizens.