RI joins FCTC?

I am disappointed to see that Indonesia will become a signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The WHO is an agent of Western imperialism if ever there was one. It has undoubtedly brow beaten Indonesia into joining the FCTC and has probably provided a number of financial incentives to do so, threatening isolation if it doesn't.

Such is the nature of WHO, which seems intent on eventually outlawing the use of tobacco worldwide. Not content with campaigns to educate the public on the dangers of tobacco use, it wishes to wage a global war on the smoker, forcing governments to increase taxes on tobacco products and limit the places in which one may smoke.

WHO is an instrument of the "nanny state", attempting to forbid whatever it disapproves of. It does not believe that the adult individual should have freedom of choice and be allowed to take individual responsibility on deciding how to lead one's life.

I believe that the WHO should inform the public of the risks of smoking, but that finally, we should be allowed to make our own life choices without interference from government.

As Indonesia moves away from the paternalistic model of government to a more democratic one, embracing the WHO FCTC is surely a step backwards.

GRAEME T. STEEL

Surabaya