The Indonesian government plans to include the dangers of smoking in the education curriculum, as part of character-building efforts, according to a story in The Jakarta Post quoting the Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendi.
Early education about the dangers of smoking would start in elementary school, he said.
“It is part of the character-building program,” he said at Muhammadiyah University in Yogyakarta, as reported by Antara News Agency.
The plan is in accordance with the government’s grand plan of optimizing character education, which has been included in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s Nawa Cita, his nine-item development agenda.
“Education on cigarettes is very important because [cigarettes] are very dangerous to teenagers,” Muhadjir said.
His ministry is due to study the plan and then launch pilot projects in several regions. The programs would need to be modified to fit state budgets, Muhadjir said.
Young Indonesian were said to be heavily exposed to cigarette advertising as cigarette companies targeted a younger market.
Data from the Health Ministry last year showed there were 60 million smokers in Indonesia and that more than 3.9 million children aged between 10 and 14 became smokers every year.