City faces formidable challenges in implementing smoking ban
City faces formidable challenges in implementing smoking ban
Tantri Yuliandini
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
A man calmly lit his cigarette without so much as a by-your-
leave. It does not matter that he was on a public Kopaja bus, it
does not matter that he was setting a bad example for his son
sitting next to him, and he probably cares little for the
distasteful looks of others bothered by his cigarette smoke.
Welcome to Indonesia, a country where about 70 percent of
adults are smokers and cigarette makers make the biggest
contribution to excise tax annually -- expected to reach Rp 31.4
trillion (about US$3.14 billion) this year.
With 211 billion cigarettes sold last year and cigarette
brands Sampoerna and Djarum being some of the biggest sponsors of
sports and entertainment events in the country, it is bit amazing
that the government dare to agitate the reign of these cash cow
companies in the interest of public health.
But thankfully for non-smokers, it did. And among some of the
earnest -- albeit cautious -- efforts to curb the number of
smokers, is Jakarta administration's implementation of Bylaw No.
2/2005 on air pollution control in February.
Among other items in the ruling, the bylaw bans smoking in
enclosed public places, and requires property management
companies to provide special smoking areas.
"We are serious about implementing the ban on smoking in
public places. Building managers must immediately establish
smoke-free zones," Governor Sutiyoso said during a public
awareness campaign in October. The bylaw was endorsed in
February.
Sutiyoso has also issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 75,
specifying offices, bus terminals, train stations, shopping
malls, airports, hotels and restaurants, as well as schools and
places of worship as smoke-free zones.
The list also includes public transportation vehicles such as
buses, trains, taxis, buses and public minivans as well as
kancil.
Violators can be punished by up to six months in jail and/or a
fine of Rp 50 million (about US$5,000).
Public awareness campaigns have been going on all through the
year, including news stories, posters and stickers, and beginning
in December, through advertisements on television, radio and
print media.
Some of the first to say they were ready to implement the new
ban were the hotels, restaurants and malls in the capital.
Hotels and restaurants have traditionally provided smoking and
non-smoking floors or areas, and malls such as Plaza Semanggi and
Plaza Senayan are designed to be smoke-free areas.
"We already distinguish between smoking areas and non-smoking
areas. For example, we have a certain number of non-smoking
floors or rooms. So we can abide by the new regulation with a
slight adjustment," Putu Ayu Aristya Dewi, marketing manager for
the Accor Group, which owns several four and five-star hotels in
the capital, told The Jakarta Post earlier.
However, a peek in some of the office buildings on Jakarta's
main thoroughfares reveals that many have yet to provide smoking
areas for tenants.
"Most people put out their cigarettes before entering the
building, but office boys and drivers often smoke near the
service elevators," an employee at the Deutsche Bank Building on
Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta said.
The property management company, PT Deutsche Real Estate
Indonesia, said that it would begin the construction of a special
smoking room in December equipped with exhaust fans and ashtrays
as stipulated in the regulation.
"But until then we have asked the building security guards to
reprimand people who light up in the emergency staircases," the
company's Daniel Pardede said.
The administration said it would take a hard line on property
management companies that failed to provide smoking areas by Dec.
31.
The office buildings may become smoke free soon enough, but
the most difficult problem for those who agree with the ban could
be the people lighting up on public transportation vehicles.
Drivers of buses and minivans are notorious not only for their
driving habits, but also for their chain smoking.
"I wouldn't be able to drive without smoking, it's the only
way I keep awake," Ucok, a bus driver plying the Bintaro-Blok M
route, said, while adding that he did not know how he was going
to do without cigarettes when the law comes into force.
The administration is encouraging drivers to warn smoking
passengers to put out their cigarettes, while passengers can
report smoking drivers to the City Transportation Agency, which
has the authority to sanction drivers.
The problem, of course, is law enforcement on passengers and
drivers.
"I'm afraid that people will be able to get away from
punishment by paying hush money to officers," environmental
expert Ahmad Safrudin said.
He said that if the administration seriously wants to enforce
the smoking ban in enclosed public places, including public
transportation, it must seriously advocate social awareness and
encourage people to be aware of their right to a smoke-free
environment.
When the bull-headed smoker does not flinch at the angry
stares and blatant coughs that his second-hand smoke provokes,
the only way may be to directly reprimand the smoker to put out
his cigarette.
"Unfortunately not everybody cares enough nor has enough
courage to reprimand others for smoking, most prefer to avoid
trouble," Ahmad said.