Minister wants delay on FCTC ratification

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Suwandi urged the government on Wednesday to postpone ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), as it could harm the country's tobacco industry.

She said that the delay was for the benefit of tobacco farmers.

"We shall ratify the FCTC when all concerned parties are prepared for it," she was quoted by Antara as saying during a meeting with tobacco farmers in Jember, East Java.

The FCTC, which was endorsed by the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2003, aims to curb the tobacco trade, globally. It has been ratified by 17 countries, but will need 40 countries to sign up to it to come into force.

The treaty's bans cover advertising for tobacco products.

She explained that the postponement was to help national cigarette production, which had dropped significantly in the past four years due to a steady increase in excise duty.

"National cigarette output dropped 15 percent to 198.38 billion in 2003 from 332.46 billion in 2000. The output has since decreased following the government's move to increase significantly the excise duty in 2000," she said.

Rini said the country produced 225.4 billion cigarettes in 1999, the total increasing to 232.46 billion in 2000.

Meanwhile, tobacco excise contributed Rp 9.86 trillion (US$1.09 billion) to state revenue in 1999, with the total rising to Rp 12.46 trillion in 2000, Rp 17.6 trillion (2001), Rp 22.3 trillion (2002) and Rp 27.03 trillion (2003) before tax.

For this year, the government has targeted excise revenue from the commodity at Rp 27.6 trillion.

Rini said the government was aware of the significant role played by the tobacco industry in the nation's economy. Apart from making a major contribution to the state budget, she said, the industry also had a broad network from the upstream to the downstream sector and could absorb a large workforce.

The government issued Regulation No.19/2003, which revised the previous regulation that set the tar and nicotine content of cigarettes at a maximum of 20 milligrams and 1.5 milligrams per cigarette respectively.

The new regulation lifts the tar and nicotine maximum content requirements, but requires a notice about tar and nicotine levels on each cigarette pack.

"The government will comprehensively discuss every problem related to cigarette production from both the farmers' and the industry's point of view," Rini affirmed.

Key requirements contained in FCTC

1. Increase tobacco taxes. 2. Enact comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. 3. Place rotating health warnings on tobacco packaging that cover at least 30 percent of the display area. 4. Ban the use of misleading and deceptive terms such as "light" and "mild". 5. Protect citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke in workplaces, public transport and enclosed areas.