Political support, people's role sought in anti-smoking push

JAKARTA (JP): Lung specialists launched a campaign on Friday to curb the increasing number of smokers and smoking-related diseases in the country by calling for the government's political support, the firm implementation of smoking regulations and people's active participation in the fight.

The chairman of the Indonesian Association of Lung Specialists (PDPI), Tjandra Yoga Aditama, addressing the media on the association's 27th anniversary, said it was difficult to fight smoking and related diseases because of the poor implementation of Government Regulation No. 81/1999 on smoking and health risks.

"It seems that the government stops at the point of reducing the tar and nicotine levels in cigarettes.

"Other programs outlined in the regulation, such as controlling cigarette advertising and promotions, and stronger warnings on cigarette packs are still being ignored," Tjandra said.

Cigarette producers must put the content of the cigarettes on each pack along with a warning of the effects of smoking, similar to food and drug packaging, he said. "They have to be honest with the people about this and let the people decide."

The administration of former president B.J. Habibie issued a regulation last year which stated that each cigarette had to contain no more than 1.5 milligrams of nicotine and 20 milligrams of tar.

But cigarette producers warned of massive unemployment if the ruling took effect. They said local cigarettes, which usually contain cloves, would be unable to meet the minimum requirements on tar and nicotine levels.

"The government always bows to the pressure on the excuse that cigarettes contribute around Rp 11 trillion (US$1.3 billion) in foreign exchange to the country ... ignoring the fact that at least Rp 30 trillion per year is 'burned out' on the consumption of cigarettes, excluding the amount spent treating smoking- related illnesses," Tjandra said.

National cigarette consumption within the past decade saw a drastic rise from 2.7 percent of the world's total in 1990 to 4 percent in 1999.

The country is now home to 36 million male smokers, or 60 percent of the male population above the age of 15, and three million women smokers, or 4 percent of all women in the country above the age of 15.

The World Health Organization said tobacco soon would be the main cause of death in the world, being linked to diseases like tuberculosis, heart attack, lung cancer and bronchitis.

Cigarettes already kill one out of 10 adults in the world, according to reports.

Some of the lung specialists in the association put forward a drastic idea to control the devastating effects of smoking: do not light up until the age of 40.

"Why 40? Because smokers usually only feel the impact of smoking about 20 years after starting. Since the life expectancy in Indonesia is 60 years for men and 70 years for women ... if they died because of smoking it would have been their time anyway," association member Hadiarto Mangunnegoro said.

"That is why whenever I deal with patients with in more advanced stages of lung cancer, I never ask them to stop smoking. It's useless," he said, pointing out that lung cancer can be treated only in the preliminary stages.

He also reminded people that treating cancer was very expensive. Chemotherapy, for example, costs between Rp 6 million and Rp 12 million per session.

"So you better quit smoking while you can. Do not shorten your life by doing it when you're young and productive," Hadiarto said.

The PDPI-sponsored national antismoking campaign will feature seminars in several cities, including Malang in East Java, Medan in North Sumatra and Denpasar in Bali.

In Jakarta, free checkups will be given to residents near the Bantar Gebang garbage dump in East Jakarta on Sept. 17.

Thousands of leaflets containing warnings about the dangers of smoking and tips on how to quit smoking will be distributed nationwide through 12 PDPI provincial offices this week.

For further information on lung diseases, you can contact PDPI's main office at Persahabatan Hospital on Jl. Raya Persahabatan in East Jakarta. You can phone them at 489-1745 or reach them at www.pdpi-pusa.com. (edt)