There's No Point In Defending The Cigarette Industry: Highlighting The Lax Cigarette Regulations In Indonesia

Illustration (Source: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Lately, a debate about cigarettes has surfaced on Twitter social media. Of the many arguments for and against the debate about tobacco-based products, one is the most important: there is no need to defend the cigarette industry. Moreover, our country's regulations regarding smoking restrictions are indeed lax.

One of the reasons why smokers do not need to defend the cigarette industry is that cigarettes can impoverish consumers. Data from the Central Statistics Agency quoted by Katadata noted that the number of poor people reached 27.54 million people as of March 2021. And cigarettes became the second largest contributor to the calculation of the poverty line.

In March 2021, the poverty line rose by 2.96 percent from IDR 458,947 per capita / month in September 2020 to IDR 472,525 per capita / month. The poverty line is the minimum expenditure for food and non-food needs that must be met in order not to be categorized as poor.

The contribution of cigarettes to the poverty line reached 11.9 percent in urban areas and 11.24 percent in rural areas. In fact, the Indonesian government has increased the cigarette excise tax to 12.5 percent. With the increase in excise, the average retail selling price of cigarettes rose 13.8 percent to 18.4 percent.

However, people seem to "don't care" even though smoking can break their pockets. The proof is, during the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of hand-rolled kretek (SKT) cigarettes increased because they were cheaper. This condition, coupled with the Government's policy of not increasing the SKT excise rate, was warmly welcomed by entrepreneurs to set up SKT segment cigarette factories.

This is validated by data from the Indonesian Public Health Association (IAKMI). In early 2021, the Kudus Customs and Excise Office noted the addition of the number of SKT segment cigarette factories in Pati Regency, Central Java from previously only 80 factories to 111 factories or an addition of 31 factories.

Unfortunately, the development of the cigarette industry is also parallel to the problems it creates. One of them is the problem of child smoking.

The Household Health Survey (SKRT) in 1995 which was integrated with the 1995 National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas) showed that most people started smoking at a young age, ie between the ages of 15-20 years. The 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) also noted that the Indonesian population aged 15 years and over who consumed the highest tobacco were those from the poor group as much as 33.52 percent.

This is not surprising because according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the price of cigarettes in Indonesia is relatively cheap and affordable. WHO also believes that Indonesia has the lowest cigarette prices among Asia Pacific countries. The price of cigarettes in Indonesia is still below 2 US dollars (US) or Rp. 29 thousand (exchange rate of Rp. 14,500 per US dollar) per pack. Numbeo data also shows that Indonesia is included in the 10 countries with the cheapest cigarette prices in the world.

From this explanation, we can see that the problems caused by the cigarette industry cannot be taken lightly. This can't be left. Moreover, from a regulatory perspective, there are no significant restrictions on smoking.

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Tighten regulations

The number of smokers from various circles including children is not because there are no rules. But the rules are still poorly enforced and seem "to be broken." The government seems to be tugging at the regulation, it is undeniable that one of the sources of state revenue is cigarette customs.

In PP No. 109 of 2012 concerning Safeguarding Materials Containing Addictive Substances in the Form of Tobacco Products for Health in Article 46, it is clear that everyone is prohibited from ordering children under the age of 18 to sell, buy, or consume tobacco products. It can be seen that just ordering is not allowed. However, there are still many children who can buy cigarettes.

Then in Articles 49 and 50, it is stated that the Government and Regional Governments are obliged to create a No Smoking Area. Non-Smoking Areas as referred to in Article 49 include health service facilities, places for teaching and learning, places for children to play, places of worship, public transportation, workplaces, as well as public places and other designated places.

Another visible evidence that illustrates that the regulation of smoking restrictions is loose, namely, we still easily see people who smoke indiscriminately. Either the local government does not provide a smoking area or the community still does not understand the regulation.

To be sure, all regulations related to smoking have been made but in fact, their enforcement is still lacking. The weakness of the Indonesian government in smoking regulations was also criticized by a public policy observer from Trisakti University, Trubus Rahardiansyah.

Illustration. (Photo: Pixabay)

Still half hearted

According to Trubus, regulations regarding cigarettes in Indonesia are prepared half-heartedly or half-baked. Moreover, the government also takes a high cigarette excise duty. There is a smoking ban and high customs duties, and tobacco farmers are not trained. Such a policy makes people giddy in dealing with cigarette affairs.

"So tobacco farmers are never noticed. They (the government) only increase excise. When cigarettes want to be banned, then what about the farmers? The state must pay attention to their fate. The government is not firm, ambiguous. It doesn't want to close the cigarette (industry), doesn't dare. ( Another problem) Our country is also running out of finances, a lot of debt. What industry can save it? Yes, cigarettes," Trubus told VOI

Another complication regarding the preparation of regulations related to cigarettes is when the industry is closed. This can have a tremendous impact on many parties. So if we might ask extreme things such as closing or limiting cigarette production, is it possible? The answer is obvious: it's hard to do --if not impossible.

"The state must have a solution for the fate of people who work in the cigarette industry and substitute for income from cigarette excise. I think that if this is done now, it's a dream. People who say that cigarettes can be closed. At that time (the cigarette industry) was closed, a substitute ( Where does state income from excise come from? If you just ban everyone, you can," said Trubus.

Indeed, the cigarette industry in Indonesia is like a simalakama fruit. On the one hand, it can cause complicated problems such as health problems for people exposed to cigarette smoke, poverty, and underage children who smoke. But on the other hand, if the cigarette industry is closed, it will have an impact on many parties, even on farmers and sources of state income.

*Read other information about cigarette smoking or read other interesting articles from Ramdan Febrian Arifin.

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