Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the National Commission on Tobacco Control (Komnas PT), a coalition of organizations that has been staunchly campaigning on tobacco issues in Indonesia, has asked the government to draft a comprehensive regulation on tobacco control to protect society.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/05/30/indonesian-tobacco-watchdog-urges-govt-to-sign-fctc-to-protect-people.html
Komnas PT chairman Prijo Sidipratomo said on Tuesday that the most important thing was for the government to immediately sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to protect society from the dangers of smoking.
“Second, the existed tobacco bill that is being discussed by the government and the House of Representatives must be dropped,” Prijo asserted in a press statement.
Prijo said the demand was in line with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s statement in February during the 2017 National Health Meeting, saying that we should not let the money that was supposed to increase children’s nutrition to be instead used to buy cigarettes.
The Komnas PT asked every party to join hands to protect the young generation from the dangers of nicotine addiction that could degrade the nation’s productivity.
Without a comprehensive regulation, more than 250 million people are left unprotected when facing the dangers of the cigarette industry that always looks for profits while harming the environment, economy, society and human rights, he added.
The commission criticized the House for wanting to delete the existing article declaring a “total ban of cigarettes advertisement in broadcasting” in a revision of the Broadcasting Law. (hol/dan)