Government told to protect nonsmokers
Government told to protect nonsmokers
JAKARTA (JP): A health official proposed on Monday that the
government slice at least 5 percent of tax revenues from
cigarettes to promote protection for nonsmokers.
Ministry of Health's Director General for Food and Drug
Control Sampurno told a media conference here that more funds
were needed to promote good health, especially to protect people
from the dangers of smoking, mainly because cigarette companies
did little to cover the government's annual health expenditures
related to smoking.
The government spends Rp 14.5 trillion (US$1.8 billion) a year
to deal with diseases and other medical problems resulting from
smoking. At the same time cigarette companies contribute Rp 10
trillion in excise taxes to the state each year.
"Health expenditures caused by cigarettes are 8.5 times larger
than the annual budget for health," Sampurno said.
A recent national survey revealed that the country was home to
36 million male smokers, or 60 percent of the male population
above the age of 10, and three million women smokers, or 4
percent of women above the age of 10.
The number showed a sharp increase of 44.1 percent over the
past decade, making Indonesia one of the countries with a growing
percentage of smokers.
The ministry data also show that national cigarette
consumption within the past decade has risen from 2.7 percent of
the world's total in 1990 to 4 percent in 1999.
"This is a very sad fact. In the United States and Japan, the
growth of smokers is declining. In India, the growth is also
negative," Sampurno said.
He blamed the aggressive promotion by cigarette companies for
the sharp increase.
"They are particularly aggressive with young people. Some of
the promotion is even unethical and immoral, for example by
giving some Rp 300,000 (US$37.50) to teenagers who dare to strip
their clothes," he said, pointing to a promotional act from an
international cigarette producer.
The growth of teenage smokers is 17 percent, according to the
survey. The prevalence of male teenage smokers is 12.8 percent to
28.8 percent, while girl smokers are 0.64 percent to 1 percent.
In the face of the implementation of regional autonomy next
year, Sampurno called on regional governments to take initiatives
in curbing the number of smokers by banning smoking in public
places.
Sampurno was speaking at the press conference with the World
Health Organization (WHO)'s envoy for antitobacco campaign, Alan
Landers.
Landers, 57, is a former "Winston" cigarette commercial star
who stop smoking after being diagnosed with lung cancer 12 years
ago, and became WHO spokesperson since then.
WHO has warned that smoking-related illnesses are expected to
kill 10 million people annually by 2030 if tobacco-free campaigns
are unheeded.
Cigarettes already kill one out of 10 adults in the world,
according to reports. (09)