Indonesia Plans Stricter Tobacco Control Laws

The government of Indonesia plans to strengthen its tobacco control laws to curb underage smoking, reports The Jakarta Post.

Among other provisions, the Ministry of Health is looking to control the promotion and packaging of e-cigarettes, which have remained unregulated since their legalization in 2018.

The ministry is also seeking to increase the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco packs to 90 percent from 40 percent, ban the advertising and promotion of tobacco products and prohibit the selling of single cigarettes.

In addition to revising the prevailing tobacco regulation, the government is also planning to further increase the cigarette excise tax next year.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Finance raised tobacco excise by 12 percent, leading to an average 35 percent increase in cigarette prices.

As one of the world’s largest tobacco markets and home to numerous cigarette manufacturers, Indonesia has long had a reputation for lax tobacco laws. It is one of the few countries in Asia to have not ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Indonesia is also the only country in Southeast Asia that still allows cigarette advertising on television and print media. According to the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, around 65 percent of Indonesia’s children are exposed to tobacco ads through television, point-of-sale advertising and billboards.

In related news, the city of Surabaya announced that it will start imposing fines and social work on people ignoring restrictions in they city’s smoke-free and vape-free areas by the end of August.

Smokers and vapers will risk a fine of IDR250,000 ($17.04) per infraction. For institutions and businesses, the city will impose staged sanctions from written warnings, temporary closures, administrative fines up to IDR50 million and finally permit revocation.