Smokers not beaten by economic crisis

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)