Gappri Wants IHT Product Rules Separated From RPP Health

A number of cigarette workers in Kudus Regency, Central Java, are busy completing their task of making hand-kretek cigarettes. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Association of Indonesian Cigarette Manufacturers (Gappri) hopes that the government will separate tobacco regulations from the Draft Health Government Regulation (RPP) regulations.

Gappri General Chair Henry Najoan said the reason his party wanted this was because currently the legal Tobacco Products Industry (IHT) continues to decline due to various excessive regulatory pushes.

The decline can be seen through the realization of Tobacco Product Excise (CHT) revenues in 2023 which do not meet the target which only reaches Rp. 213.48 trillion or 91.78 percent of the APBN target.

"If the RPP is still cut off with the current draft, it will have a bad effect on the IHT business climate. The number of restrictions on IHT, such as additional materials or restrictions on TAR and nicotine, will put Gappri members out of business," Henry said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 21.

According to him, there have been many various restrictions and prohibitions for the JCI, where there are at least 446 regulations governing the JCI.

In detail, 400 regulations are in the form of controls or controls with a percentage of 89.68 percent, 41 regulations governing CHT or 9.19 percent, and only five regulations governing economic and welfare issues or 1.12 percent.

Henry also hopes that the segmentation of conventional cigarette sales regulations and e-cigarettes can be further detailed.

"This is because the two types of cigarettes have different ecosystems, and the majority of conventional cigarettes use domestic raw materials with reference at the Domestic Component Level (TKDN)," he said.

For information, the government is working on the derivative rules of Law Number 17/2023 concerning Health in the form of RPP Health related to the Security of Addictive Substances.