Activists Slam Indonesia’s Failure to Raise Taxes

Indonesia’s decision to keep cigarette excise tax levels at 2024 levels next year has drawn fierce criticism from health advocates, reports The Jakarta Post.

Hasbullah Thabrany, head of the National Committee on Tobacco Control, said the failure to increase taxes represents a major step backward in the effort to reduce tobacco consumption in the country.

He noted that a previous 10 percent increase in cigarette tax had failed to decrease smoking rates among minors and low-income families.

“Yet, despite that situation, the government decided not to raise the excise for next year,” Hasbullah said in a discussion on Thursday, 3 Oct 2024.

On Jan. 1, Indonesia increased the tax on electronic cigarettes by 10 percent. In late 2022, the government announced an increase in taxes on machine-made clove cigarettes and white cigarettes of between 11 and 12 percent, as well as a 5 percent rise for hand-rolled cigarettes.

Indonesia is in the Top-10 of countries with the highest smoking rates, according to the World Health Organization.