Ministry of Health Urged to Involve Other Parties Regarding Cigarette Packaging Regulations
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The General Chairman of the All-Indonesia Tobacco, Food, and Beverage Workers Federation (PP FSP RTMM-SPSI), Henry Wardhana, has urged the Ministry of Health to involve other parties in the drafting of regulations on standardised cigarette packaging.
“We are asking the Ministry of Health to involve relevant parties, including various ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Manpower, and the Ministry of Finance, as well as farmers’ associations, workers’ unions, retailers, and others,” said Henry in Jakarta on Thursday.
He also hopes that the Ministry of Health will not only consider the health aspects of the proposed regulations on standardised cigarette packaging.
According to him, the draft regulations have a very large socio-economic impact.
Furthermore, Henry mentioned that 6,000 workers in the labour-intensive tobacco sector have submitted their rejection of the draft regulations on standardised packaging through the public input channel provided by the Ministry of Health.
He affirmed that they unanimously reject the proposed regulations because they are considered to hinder the government’s efforts to combat illegal cigarettes.
“Currently, the circulation of illegal cigarettes in Indonesia is already around 13 per cent, so if the standardisation of packaging is still enforced, the circulation of illegal cigarettes could reach 35 per cent,” said Henry.
Not only that, according to him, the workers’ union is concerned that the proposed article on standardising packaging or plain packaging will lead to layoffs, which could increase unemployment and cause social unrest.
Therefore, they are asking the Ministry of Health to comprehensively consider the impact of the regulations, which are considered to threaten the sustainability of jobs in the labour-intensive sector, especially in the face of increasingly challenging economic conditions and limited job opportunities.