Indonesian Children Besieged by Dangerous Sugary Drink Ads, Forum Warns

The Indonesian Urban Forum (Fakta) has stated that children are besieged by advertisements for sugar-sweetened beverages (MBDK) that are harmful to health, as they can cause obesity and trigger other non-communicable diseases. “Wherever children are, there is an onslaught of advertisements for dangerous drinks,” said Fakta Indonesia Deputy Chair Azas Tigor Nainggolan in a statement in Jakarta on Monday. According to him, this situation demonstrates that the government lacks a policy to control the presence of advertisements for these hazardous drinks. He noted that Indonesian children are already suffering from non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and kidney failure, with some even requiring haemodialysis. Indonesia ranks fifth in the world for the number of diabetes sufferers, based on 2021 data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), with approximately 19.47 million patients. Data from the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI) in January 2023 showed that the incidence of diabetes in children aged 0 to 18 years had increased 70-fold over a ten-year period. Diabetes is considered a gateway to many other diseases, potentially increasing the risk of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, obesity, stroke, and kidney failure. Azas argued that the background of the high increase in obesity and diabetes cases in Indonesia should be a special concern for the government to create policies that control and limit the promotion and consumption of MBDK. He claimed the MBDK industry deliberately targets children for promotion and sales, proving that the government and adults are negligent and fail to protect children’s rights to a healthy life and proper development. He assessed that government efforts to control these products and restrict the industry are essential for a healthy future for Indonesian children. “The condition is already very concerning and endangers the future of children and Indonesia,” he said. He noted that the widespread advertising of dangerous drinks influences children to become consumers of MBDK without any control. “Indonesian children are now unhealthy due to high consumption of MBDK,” he stated. Restrictions and controls must be implemented immediately to protect the health and safety of children and the nation’s future. “Do not let Indonesia’s future be filled with unhealthy people,” he said. The government must create fiscal and non-fiscal policies regarding MBDK products to control their circulation in society. Non-fiscal policies should require all food and beverage products to display nutritional information on the front of the packaging. This nutritional information should be provided in the form of a warning label that is easily understood by the public, especially children. Additionally, the fiscal policy that must be implemented is for the government to immediately issue a Government Regulation on Excise for all MBDK products. The obligation to issue an Excise Government Regulation for MBDK arises because these products contain dangerous substances and must be controlled to prevent their adverse effects.