Cigarette makers defy regulation, activist says
Cigarette makers defy regulation, activist says
JAKARTA (JP): Cigarette manufacturers remain defiant of
government regulations enacted to curb the hazardous content of
their products, a medical association activist said on Tuesday.
Chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) Merdias
Almatsier said that cigarette producers had been using irrational
excuses not to comply with government regulation No. 81/1999
which stipulates a maximum nicotine content of 1.5 mg and tar
content of 20 mg in each cigarette sold in the country.
"They (the manufacturers) said they will no longer be able to
buy tobacco from local farmers," Merdias said. Local tobacco is
known to have a high level of nicotine.
Merdias said that the reason was unacceptable since a new
planting method to control the nicotine content in tobacco had
been developed.
Merdias was speaking on the sidelines of a two-day workshop
organized by the National Committee to Contend Smoking Problems.
Activists from various non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
and professional associations attended the workshop which was
sponsored by the World Health Organization.
The regulation gives machine-made cigarette manufacturers two
years from its issuance to comply with the ruling, while large
and small scale handmade cigarette producers have five and 10
years respectively.
A violation of the ruling carries a maximum penalty of five
years imprisonment and a Rp 100 million fine.
Merdias said about 57,000 people in the country die from
diseases stemming from smoking cigarettes annually. The number
contributes to the world annual figure of 3 million.
The government earlier planned to impose an excise tax based
on nicotine and tar content before April 1, but manufacturers,
especially clove cigarette producers, said the policy would lead
to bankruptcy and mass layoffs.
They also said that the policy would only benefit
multinational nonclove cigarette producers whose products already
had relatively low tar and nicotine contents.
The government backed down from its plan and set a new tax
system based on production volume, only to raise strong protests
from cigarette makers, including PT BAT Indonesia.
Smarting from the negative response, Director General of Food
and Drug Control Sampurno suggested a new approach to reduce
smoking habits by creating anticigarette advertisements.
He said opening a frontal opposition to cigarette
manufacturers could draw strong protests from tobacco farmers and
cigarette manufacturers' employees.
"I just received a group of people who claimed to represent an
NGO, who threatened to hold a massive rally if YLKI (the
Indonesian Consumers Foundation) continues with its plan to file
a class action," Sampurno said.
YLKI had threatened to file a class action against cigarette
producers if they remained reluctant to accommodating the 1999
regulation. (08)