Indonesian smokers ranked 7th in world

Indonesian smokers ranked 7th in world

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Almost 60 percent of Indonesia's population of 215 million are
smokers, making it the seventh-largest smoking country in the
world, an official told Antara.

Deputy Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Farid W.
Husain said on Tuesday the latest data issued by the World Health
Organization (WHO) Southeast Asia representative had prompted the
government to step up its campaign to raise people's awareness of
the hazards of tobacco.

Ministry of Health data shows that 57,000 people die of
smoking-related diseases in the country every year. The world
total stands at four million.

An estimated 1.1 billion people on earth are smokers, 800
million of whom live in developing countries, according to WHO.

Farid described the increase in the number of cigarette
consumers in Indonesia as significant as it was ranked a low 19th
10 years ago.

He said the government had sought every avenue to curb the
incidence of smoking, including the issuance of Government
Regulation No. 38/2000, aimed at protecting people from the
dangers of tobacco.

The regulation, which replaced Regulation No. 81/1999, bans
any display of cigarette products for advertisement purposes. The
ruling allows TV stations to air ads for tobacco products between
9.30 p.m. and 5 a.m.

It restricts the nicotine content to a maximum of 0.2 mg and
the maximum tar content to 15 mg per cigarette. All cigarette
products must bear a warning of the dangers of smoking to health.

Farid admitted that despite the intensifying campaign against
tobacco, the government could not close down tobacco companies,
which employ four million workers and contribute Rp 27 trillion
to state revenues annually.

He said the government was considering a policy to encourage
the tobacco industry to focus on exports instead of the domestic
market and to persuade tobacco farmers to turn gradually to other
crops. The government might also ask the Indonesian Ulemas
Council to declare tobacco haram (forbidden under Islamic law).