RI chokes as pact anti-smoking becomes law

RI chokes as pact anti-smoking becomes law

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The global anti-smoking pact became law on Sunday legally binding
the countries that ratified it. Cigarette-friendly Indonesia,
meanwhile, coughed embarrassedly and stood at the back of the
room.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) endorsed by
the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to
curb the tobacco trade globally.

It has been ratified by 57 countries, which were given three
years to slap strong health warnings on tobacco packages, and
five years to ban all tobacco advertisements, promotion and
sponsorship.

The treaty, the first in the world regarding international
public health, also recommends tax increases on tobacco products,
crackdowns on smuggling, and reducing exposure to second-hand
smoke.

It is hoped the agreement will help reduce the devastating
economic and health impacts of tobacco consumption, which is the
second leading cause of preventable deaths globally after
hypertension, killing some 4.9 million people a year.

Smoker-friendly Indonesia, however, did not sign the pact
although more than 400,000 people are known to have died in 2001
due to smoking-related diseases, including lung cancer, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and strokes. Estimates are
hazy about total smoking related deaths in the country but
experts say they are likely to be in the millions.

Studies have shown that many smokers globally are children and
teenagers, more than a third of which continue to smoke in adult
years and die prematurely of diseases.

However, anti-tobacco campaigns in Indonesia have always run
up against money -- tobacco excise charges contribute a great
deal to state revenues -- some Rp 27.03 trillion in 2003 before
tax.

In June last year, former minister of industry and trade Rini
MS Soewandi urged the government to postpone the FCTC
ratification as it could harm the country's tobacco industry,
which was a major employer.

However, health experts and anti-smoking activists argue that
the cost of the health problems caused by smoking far outweigh
the benefits the industry brings, and costs the government twice
as much as the revenues generated from tobacco taxes.

Increasing tobacco tax would bring in more revenue that could
be use to fund public health programs, they said.

Tjandra Yoga Aditama, a pulmonologist and anti-smoking
activist, said that FCTC ratification would be the ideal way to
impose sanctions on violators.

"The deadline for ratification expired last year but we could
still become a party to the convention (by legislation)," he
said.

Tjandra said the recent decision of the Jakarta administration
to pass a bylaw on air pollution banning cigarette smoking in
public places was a good example of an anti-smoking campaign.

"This step should be followed by other (local)
administrations. The government should adopt the key requirements
of the FCTC into its legislation as well," he said.

These include increasing tobacco taxes; enacting comprehensive
bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; placing
rotating health warnings on tobacco packaging that cover at least
30 percent of the display area; banning the use of misleading and
deceptive terms such as "light" and "mild"; and protecting
citizens from exposure to tobacco smoke in workplaces, public
vehicles and enclosed areas.