Indonesia maps road to FCTC ratification

An anti-tobacco network has launched a ‘road map’ it hopes will accelerate Indonesia’s ratification of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), according to a story in The Jakarta Post.

The chairman of the Indonesia Tobacco Control Network (ITCN), Kartono Mohamad, said on Monday that Indonesia was one of 10 countries that had not ratified the FCTC.

Kartono said that cigarette consumption in Indonesia was increasing every year and that the country now had the third-highest number of smokers worldwide.

The chairman of the road map working group, Sudibyo Markus, said the road map had been produced after an in-depth analysis of the current situation, which was characterized by slow government action, weak law enforcement, high numbers of smokers and a public hazard.

He said the road map had been divided into five main topics related to public and legal policies, the economy, health, education and socio-cultural issues.

Meanwhile, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the director general of the Health Ministry’s Disease Control and Environmental Health department, said the ministry applauded the network for launching the road map. “This represents real action and commitment to controlling tobacco in Indonesia,” Tjandra said.