Jakarta finalising technical rules for tobacco advertising ban

The Jakarta Health Agency (Dinkes) has announced that the draft governor’s regulation (Pergub) providing technical rules for the Regional Regulation No. 7 of 2025 on Smoke-Free Areas (KTR) is in its final consolidation stage. The regulation aims to halt the exploitation of tobacco product advertising. “Finalisation is targeted for next week,” said Intan, an Expert Administrator at the Jakarta Health Agency, in a written statement received in Jakarta on Friday. Intan stated that the Pergub on KTR closes all possible loopholes for the tobacco industry to promote its products, including the obligation to store cigarettes in closed spaces without displaying brand logos or colours at retail outlets. The regulation also imposes administrative fines according to the level of violation by individuals, managers, or business entities, with non-cash fine payments via e-wallet or QRIS, a system already prepared by the Regional Financial Management Agency (BPKD). She added that due to the limited number of Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) personnel in the field, the formation of a tiered KTR Task Force needs to involve cross-agency collaboration and the public, whereby public complaints can now be easily reported directly through the Jakarta Kini (JAKI) application. Concurrently, the Health Agency is also expanding Smoking Cessation (UBM) polyclinics in community health centres (puskesmas). Meanwhile, Benget Saragih, the Person in Charge of Tobacco-Related Disease Control (PPAT) at the Directorate of Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Control (P2PTM) of the Ministry of Health, encouraged the Jakarta Provincial Government to immediately ratify the KTR Pergub. This is to align with the health protection mandate in Government Regulation (PP) No. 28 of 2024. “As well as to strengthen the commitment to a Jakarta Free of Outdoor Cigarette Advertising in welcoming the momentum of Jakarta’s 500th anniversary in 2027,” he said. He warned that cigarette addiction from an early age directly contributes to the double burden of chronic diseases in Jakarta, such as 641,906 cases of acute respiratory infection (ISPA) at puskesmas and 282,982 cases of essential hypertension. “We cannot continue to allow this disease to burden the health system simply because our children are constantly being seduced by cheap cigarette advertisements around schools,” Benget said.