Mixed smoke signals on to date of City Hall tobacco ban

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso might have succeeded in preventing his subordinates from smoking in their offices, but he is apparently unable to make them finally kick the habit.

Since declaring City Hall and administration offices as smoke- free-zones, the "No Smoking" signs seem to have been effective in discouraging staff from smoking in their offices.

The Jakarta Post observed that most air-conditioned rooms in the office buildings were free of cigarette smoke.

However, many officials were still to be seen furtively puffing away in dark corners outside the buildings.

"Fortunately, I can go outside to smoke as the exit is only a few meters away from my office. I can't imagine what the people upstairs do when they want a smoke. They won't be able to nip outside like I do," said Reza, 45.

Reza said that not every office building had provided smoking areas.

"Perhaps you should carry out a study on the impact of the rule in reducing staff productivity due to their frequent smoke breaks," said Reza laughing.

He added that senior officials might be the most affected by the policy as they usually smoked more when preparing big projects -- possibly exited about the potential financial benefits they stood to gain.

City spokesman Muhayat brushed aside the complaints.

"Every administration office building must provide a comfortable room for smokers as we have strictly prohibited staff from smoking in offices. If a building fails to provide a room, it must at least provide an open space for smokers."

Muhayat also insisted that the regulation would not affect staff productivity.

Sutiyoso issued a decree on Feb. 9 curtailing smoking in administration offices in the hope of reducing the incidence of smokers in the city.

The decree requires all administration officials, workers and guests to refrain from smoking on administration premises.

The decree also prohibits the marketing of cigarettes on administration premises, including the handing out of cigarettes as freebies to staff.

The Jakarta administration is one of the few government institutions that has officially declared its offices to be smoke-free. In September last year, the University of Indonesia also declared its campuses to be smoke-free zones.

Smoking is a worldwide concern, with the World Health Organization (WHO) saying that around five million people die of smoking-related diseases last year.

The WHO launches this year's campaign for World No Tobacco Day, which falls on Monday, with the slogan: Tobacco and Poverty: a vicious circle, stressing the enormous economic costs of tobacco use and cultivation to families, communities and countries.

So far, little has been done by the government to discourage people from smoking, despite the existence of Government Regulation No. 81/1999 on the protection of public health, which requires no-smoking areas to be set aside in public places, buildings and on public transportation. This regulation, however, has been ignored by most government institutions, except for the Ministry of Health.