Association Of Values Of Tobacco Articles In PP 28/2024 Limits MSME Business

JAKARTA - The Association of alternative tobacco product business actors rejected a number of articles related to tobacco in Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024 because it would kill the alternative tobacco product industry which was classified as new and dominated by MSMEs.

The regulation is also considered ineffective so it needs to be revised.

"One of them is Article 434, where shops are prohibited from selling tobacco products within a radius of 200 meters from educational institutions. This is not a solution, it will only cause new problems because it harms small traders, limits MSME businesses, and makes more unemployed," said Secretary General of the Indonesian Vaporezer Personal Association (APVI) Garindra Kartasasmita reported by ANTARA, Monday, September 2.

According to him, the regulation in PP 28/2024 was made stricter than the previous PP which regulated the shooting, namely PP 109 of 2012. In addition to the issue of distance, the age of the buyer has been increased from the previous minimum of 18 years, now to 21 years.

APVI has agreed to sell tobacco products and electronic cigarettes only for adult consumers, but there is no need to kill the industry, the majority of which are MSMEs.

"In the past, the implementation of PP 109/2012 was unsuccessful. If the goal is to suppress underage users, we agree and we propose a more effective solution, namely the punishment that must be clarified. So, for example, punishment for those who sell under 18 years old, supervision and education. we will also help," said Garindra.

Currently, he continued, APVI consistently supervises all of their retail members to comply with the code of ethics and integrity pact that has been agreed upon by all APVI members and the commitment not to sell alternative tobacco products to minors.

Garindra assessed that PP 28/2024 will only have the potential to hamper the government's efforts to reduce smoking prevalence and lead to increased circulation of illegal products.

For this reason, he hopes that the government will always involve all stakeholders in formulating policies, including business actors, because they will have a direct impact on them.

Meanwhile, Public Policy Observer from Trisakti University Trubus Rahardiansah revealed the absence of involvement of business actors as stakeholders in the alternative tobacco product industry in the formulation of PP 28/2024. This causes its implementation will not be effective in the field.

According to him, public participation in the preparation of PP 28/2024 only involves groups that are mostly against tobacco products. Meanwhile, alternative tobacco product associations are not involved in the formulation of the policy.

"How do you want to support this policy? I think in the field there are many resistances and rejections, there are also no sanctions. So I think it should be clear," he said.

He hopes that the policies implemented in the public should provide solutions, not create new problems.

Moreover, the direct impact of PP 28/2024 will be burdensome for small businesses such as MSMEs and grocery stalls.

"Actually, this rule is against the decision of the Constitutional Court, where cigarettes are legal products and why should touch retail traders, where buyers are lower-income people. These traders also need income because they have been earning income from there," said Trubus.

Therefore, he continued, if the government still does not pay attention to input from various elements of the community concerned, then there is no other way than to submit a judicial review to the Supreme Court (MA).