Tobacco Farmers Urge The Ministry Of Health To Withdraw The Draft Permenkes For Plain Cigarette Packaging Without A Brand

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Association of Indonesian Tobacco Farmers (APTI) firmly rejects the policy of packaging plain cigarettes without a brand proposed in the Draft Regulation of the Minister of Health (RPMK). Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin is suspected of receiving foreign intervention for imposing the issuance of the regulation, following a number of irregularities between articles.

Chairman of the APTI National Leadership Council, Agus Parmuji, saw a violation of the constitutional norms committed by the Minister of Health in designing the RPMK by ignoring the mandate of Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024 which should be a reference.

"We suspect that the Minister of Health deliberately violated the constitution in making the RPMK. Has the Minister of Health 'winded' because there was a deposit from a certain party? Or is there a certain party who is fussy about RPMK? In fact, the Minister of Health works for foreign parties or works for the people of Indonesia," he said, in a written statement, quoted Thursday, October 10.

He emphasized that all tobacco products industry business actors strongly reject the provisions in the RPMK regarding the policy of packaging plain cigarettes without brands. Where the discourse of the policy was previously not regulated in PP 28/2024.

The APTI DPN also recorded a number of irregularities in the RPMK, such as the period of implementation of the provisions for packaging standardization that were not in accordance with the mandate of PP 28/2024. The provisions of Article 1157 in PP 28/2024 stipulate that business actors are required to comply with the provisions for the inclusion of health warnings within 2 years since PP is promulgated, namely in July 2026.

"However, the provisions on the RPMK are not in accordance with the mandate of PP 28/2024, which stipulates that business actors are required to comply with the rules regarding packaging standardization including design and writing, and health warnings, within 1 year of PP 28/2024 being promulgated, namely July 2025," he explained.

Meanwhile, the Head of APTI DIY, Triyanto stated that plain, brandless cigarette packaging basically caused a dilemma. On the one hand, his party refused because the policy would harm many parties. Moreover, consumers will not know product specifications, how dangerous or not.

In addition, he emphasized that this policy could actually open up opportunities for counterfeiting cigarette products to the spread of illegal cigarettes.

"The government will also be harmed because of the potential loss of excise income," said Triyanto.

Therefore, Triyanto appealed to the government to be wise in issuing policies, especially in protecting farmers, producers, and laborers. He explained that tobacco is one of the commodities that contributes greatly to state revenue.

"One of the country's largest foreign exchanges comes from tobacco, but unfortunately the price of tobacco has not been clearly regulated, such as rice and soybeans. If tobacco farmers are transferred to other commodities, there are no replacement commodities that are suitable for planting in tobacco fields," he explained.

According to Triyanto, tobacco is a plant that grows in the dry season, and not all agricultural commodities can be grown on the same land. He said, there are no other commodities whose value is greater than tobacco, especially during the dry season. According to him, tobacco farmers are prosperous and have the right to maintain their livelihood sources.

"This shows that policies that force farmers to switch to other plants without considering local conditions will only increase the burden on farmers," he said.

Triyanto also responded to the narrative that is often brought by those who are against tobacco, including the Ministry of Health, which suggests that tobacco farmers switch to other plants. According to him, farmers already have flexibility in choosing commodities that will be planted according to weather conditions.

"During the rainy season, we grow rice, and when it is dry, we grow tobacco. Farmers already know how to manage the land according to the existing season," he said.

He emphasized that discussing health issues could not be the basis for forcing farmers to switch to other commodities. Triyanto also considered that the problems faced by tobacco farmers were often associated with the narrative that they were not prosperous.

In fact, tobacco farmers play a major role in the regional economy. He emphasized that the welfare or not of farmers is not solely determined by the commodities they plant, but by regulations that suppress the industry.

"This is just a narrative associated with the tobacco products industry. In fact, when tobacco prices are good, farmers can actually buy land and maintain inflation in the regions," he said.

Triyanto hopes that the government will be more in favor of and protect tobacco farmers. Instead of considering its overall impact, the proposed policies such as plain cigarette packaging without brands actually put pressure on farmers.

"The government must be able to protect all parties, be it farmers, laborers, and producers. Policies that suppress the tobacco products industry will have an impact on many sectors, including farmers," he concluded.