Plain Cigarette Packaging Regulation Enters Cross-Ministry Harmonisation Phase
The Ministry of Health has confirmed that the Draft Ministerial Regulation on Health Warnings and Information on Tobacco Products and Electronic Cigarettes has entered the cross-ministry and institutional harmonisation phase. Ministry spokesperson Widyawati stated that all input gathered from public consultation forums and letters from various stakeholders has been compiled to refine the substance of the draft regulation.
Widyawati explained that the next stage involves harmonisation between ministries and institutions, coordinated by the Ministry of Law. This process aims to finalise and solidify the concept before the regulation is enacted. She noted that the drafting of the regulation has been carried out in stages, involving relevant government agencies and stakeholders comprehensively.
Prior to entering the harmonisation phase, the Ministry of Health conducted a pre-harmonisation process with several ministries and agencies. These included the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade, the National Development Planning Agency, and the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency. The Ministry of Health also held bilateral meetings with the Ministry of Finance to discuss the policy’s links to fiscal matters, tobacco consumption control, state revenue, and the supervision of illegal cigarette distribution.
Despite these steps, the draft regulation continues to face opposition. Waljid Budi Lestarianto, Chair of the Regional Leadership of the Cigarette, Tobacco, Food and Beverage Workers Federation–SPSI for the Special Region of Yogyakarta, argued that standardised plain packaging could negatively impact the tobacco industry’s economy. He contended that the policy could affect millions of workers and potentially increase the circulation of illegal cigarettes, thereby impacting state revenue. Citing Ministry of Industry data, he noted that the tobacco industry absorbs around six million workers from upstream to downstream, and urged that any policy suppressing the legal industry must thoroughly calculate its impact on employment, investment, and state revenue.