Expert says standardised cigarette packaging policy needs cross-sectoral review
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Airlangga Surya Nagara, a constitutional law expert from Sebelas Maret University (UNS), has said the policy on standardising cigarette packaging needs to be reviewed through a regulatory impact analysis involving stakeholders across sectors.
“The aim is for the resulting policy to be proportionate, non-discriminatory, and no more restrictive than necessary to achieve its public health objective,” Airlangga said in a statement received in Jakarta on Friday.
Airlangga explained that, from a legal standpoint, the plan to standardise packaging colours raises problems because two competing interests both require state protection.
From the perspective of business actors, Airlangga said the plan to standardise packaging colours potentially violates the exclusive rights over trademarks, a form of intellectual property guaranteed by the constitution.
“This restriction is not merely a technical regulation, but an economic limitation on businesses operating in this sector,” he said.
He noted there are two interests that equally demand the state’s attention: protecting intellectual property rights and efforts to reduce smoking prevalence in Indonesia.
Airlangga cautioned that if standardisation of packaging colours is carried out through the total removal of designs, brands, and logos, it would violate the principles of Intellectual Property Rights (HAKI), which are intended to protect brand identity.
Moreover, such a policy would exceed its authority because it touches on the constitutional domain concerning the limitation of economic rights.
According to him, this should be regulated by law rather than by a technical regulation.
Furthermore, Article 435 of Government Regulation Number 28 of 2024, the implementing regulation of Law Number 17 of 2023 on Health, only states that the Health Ministry is authorised to regulate the standardisation of packaging consisting of design and text — not to standardise packaging colours as the Ministry of Health is currently pushing for.
Previously, the Ministry of Industry affirmed its rejection of the cigarette packaging standardisation provision contained in the draft Health Ministerial Regulation (Permenkes), a derivative regulation of Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024.
Merrijantij Punguan Pintaria, Director of Beverages, Tobacco Products and Refreshments Industry at the Ministry of Industry, requested that the packaging standardisation provision be removed from the draft regulation.
He conveyed this position as being in line with the aspirations of business actors, who consider that packaging standardisation is not appropriate for inclusion in a Permenkes.
According to him, during the harmonisation process, which is still ongoing, the Ministry of Health, as the initiating ministry, maintains the view that packaging standardisation is a mandate of PP Number 28 of 2024.
However, the Ministry of Industry believes that what should be regulated is the design and placement of health warnings on cigarette packaging, not the standardisation of packaging as a whole.
The Ministry of Health is currently drafting a Health Ministerial Regulation (RPMK) on the Inclusion of Health Warnings and Information on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes in order to reduce the appeal of these products, especially among children and adolescents.
Acting Director General of Disease Prevention at the Ministry of Health, Andi Saguni, said cigarette and vape packaging has long served not only as a product container but also as a promotional tool capable of attracting new smokers, particularly young people.