Indonesia raises smoking age limit, will curb cigarette advertising
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[July 31, 2024]
By Stanley Widianto
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia raised the minimum age limit for purchasing
cigarettes to 21 from 18 as part of a series of changes to health
regulations intended to curb the deadly habit in a country with one of
the world's highest smoking rates.
A country of 270 million people, Indonesia is one of the world's top
producers of tobacco and there are about 70 million adult smokers there,
the World Health Organization said in a 2021 survey.
In a government regulation signed by President Joko Widodo last week,
Indonesia raised the minimum age for people wanting to buy cigarettes to
21 and banned the sale of a single cigarette, a cheap alternative common
in local street stores.
The regulation is intended to "lower prevalence of smokers and prevent
early-age smokers," says the regulation. Among the provisions is banning
the sale of cigarettes within 200 meters (656 feet) of schools and
playgrounds.
The regulation takes effect immediately.
Indonesia's health ministry said in a 2023 survey that 7.4% of smokers
out of 70 million smokers in the country are between the ages of 10 to
18, with 15-19 being the age group with the most amount of smokers.
The new regulation also bans conventional and electronic cigarette sales
on "commercial electronic applications" and social media sites, unless
there is age verification. Advertising cigarettes on social media is
also banned. Penalties for violations range from a written reprimand to
a temporary ban on advertising cigarettes.
The new provisions on advertising will come into force in two years.
Yasrip, a street store seller in Jakarta, said the rules don't really
bother him as he sells things other than cigarettes, adding the
government should be stricter in enforcing its rules.
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Cigarette butts are seen on the ashtray in Jakarta, Indonesia, May
31, 2024. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
Anti-smoking advocates say some of
the new regulations are not enough to curb smoking.
Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, a tobacco control advocate, said some
provisions are good, such as those that regulate electronic
cigarettes, but the government must issue a technical implementation
regulation to ensure monitoring and enforcement.
Manik Marganamahendra, a youth tobacco control advocate, also said
enforcing the minimum age limit has to be more stringent, with ID
verification, for instance.
Henry Najoan of the cigarette factory association was quoted by news
web site Kumparan as saying that the rules would destroy the tobacco
industry.
Cheap and widespread, Indonesia has also tried to curb smoking by
raising excise rates on tobacco products for almost every year in
the past few years, including by 10% this year.
(Additional reporting by Heru Asprihanto; Editing by Michael Perry
and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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