Smokers not beaten by economic crisis
BANDUNG (JP): Despite wallowing in poverty, many Indonesians still find enough spare cash to buy cigarettes. A recent survey indicates some 60 million people, most of whom earn less than US$1 a day, are smokers.
Director general of Food and Drug Control Sampurno claimed that studies conducted by the Foundation for Overcoming Smoking Problems, estimates the total number of smokers, above ten years of age, comprise some 70 percent of the male population and just under 5 percent of the female population.
That number roughly equates to over 60 million Indonesians out of the total population of 210 million.
He did not elaborate further on the methodology of the survey, saying only that it included new smokers who took up the habit a month earlier.
If the findings are consistent, it shows that as the country underwent one of the worst economic crisis in its history, it did little to discourage people from spending money on cigarettes.
Sampurno said here on Wednesday that what was even more concerning was the fact that 60 percent of smokers were those from the lower bracket whose income was less than $1 (Rp 8,500) per day.
"These poor people are spending 30 percent to 40 percent of their income on cigarettes," he said.
As a comparison, Sampurno said the poor population in China spent 25 percent of their income on cigarettes.
Sampurno also noted that smoking habits in Indonesia had doubled during the last 10 years, compared to the trend in other developing countries which only saw a 64 percent increase in smokers.
"Whereas in developed countries there is a drop of about 10 percent," he added.
Sampurno reasserted the need for the government to apply a stricter ruling on cigarettes. He said that higher cigarette taxes in other countries had proven effective in suppressing the habit.
The government should also demand that producers print the tar and nicotine content on cigarette packs, he said during a ceremony to mark the west Java leg of an antitobacco campaign which saw a torch being carried in the city.
The Southeast Asia antitobacco torch started out in India and is criss-crossing the region. It will now proceed to Yogyakarta and then pass through South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and South Sulawesi before proceeding to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Myanmar and then back to India.
Chairwoman of the Indonesian Cancer Foundation Karlina Umar Wirahadikusumah urged at the same ceremony cigarette producers to refrain from advertising in the mass media.
Advertisements, especially in the electronics media, could encourage children and teenagers to smoke, she said.
"Cigarette advertisements are always portraying an image of masculinity," Karlina said. "Many teenagers take up the habit because they want to be seen as manly, without realizing the dangers."
One of the known risks of smoking is lung cancer.
Health experts estimate that three out of every 1,000 smokers will suffer from lung cancer within 20 years, compared to seven out of every 100,000 nonsmokers.
Lung cancer is the third most likely cause of death after breast and cervical cancer among women in Indonesia. (10/25)