Health day gives new momentum to national antismoking drive

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia celebrated National Health Day on Friday quietly, with Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi renewing the antismoking drive.

In his statement to mark the day, Sujudi said that the antismoking drive was timely as most Indonesians were fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadhan.

Muslims account for around 90 percent of Indonesia's population of 214 million.

"It's improper for people to break their fast by smoking because it is damaging their own health and that of their families and relatives," said Sujudi.

He said Indonesia should emulate Malaysia, which in line with this year's fasting month has launched the "Quit Smoking in Ramadhan" program.

Smoking is known to cause 25 diseases, not only to smokers but to passive smokers also.

The latest World Health Organization (WHO) report revealed that the number of active smokers in the world stands at 1.1 billion. The population of smokers in Indonesia reached 141 million in 2002, according to a household health survey.

WHO said four million people die every year from smoking- related diseases, such as lung cancer and heart disease, while the Ministry of Health estimates 6.5 million people suffer from such diseases.

The antismoking campaign has sparked controversy in Indonesia as the cigarette industry has been one of the main sources of revenue. The government has targeted Rp 25.1 trillion (US$2.95 billion) from cigarette excise in the current fiscal year.

Sujudi also called on citizens to be responsible for their own health and urged hospitals and those who work in health and medical services to improve their professionalism and provide good healthcare.

"Have more empathy toward patients, understand their needs," he said.

Healthcare service improvement will be among the main focuses of the new National Health System (SKN), which will be launched on Nov. 12.

The WHO survey in 2003 reported that Indonesia's Human Development Index (HDI) dropped from 110th in 2000, to 112 in 2003 due to the decline in the quality of health in the country. Both years the United Nations body surveyed 175 countries.

Among the indicators of Indonesia's poor health condition were the high rate of infant mortality (50 out of every 1,000 births), high maternal mortality rate (373 out of 100,000 births), and low life expectancy (66,2 years).