Bogor City Health Office Tightens Supervision Of The Prohibition Of Cigarette Advertising In Modern Retail And Minimarkets

FGD participants strengthened supervision of the ban on cigarette advertisements at the Bogor City Health Office, West Java, Thursday, February 27, 2025. (ANTARA/M Fikri Setiawan)

The Bogor City Government continues to tighten the ban on cigarette advertisements in public places to create a healthier environment and free from exposure to tobacco products.

This prohibition has been regulated in Regional Regulation (Perda) No. 10 of 2018 concerning Non-Smoking Areas (KTR), which includes bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of cigarette products in various public places such as modern retail, minimarkets, and shopping centers.

The West Java Bogor City Health Office (Dinkes) held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with stakeholders at its office, Thursday, to strengthen supervision of this policy.

The head of the Bogor City Health Office, Dr. Sri Nowo Retno, emphasized that the implementation of the KTR Regional Regulation was carried out routinely by involving various parties, including the Satpol PP, the Cooperatives Service, Small, Medium Enterprises, Trade and Industry, Puskesmas, Districts, Kelurahan, and NGO No Tobacco Community.

In early 2025, the KTR Development Team and Enforcement Team carried out inspections of 126 modern retail locations and minimarkets to evaluate compliance with these regulations. Inspection results show that only 23.81 percent of modern retailers have implemented the KTR Regional Regulation, while 76.19 percent of others have not complied with the rules.

The FGD, which was held, is a collaboration between the Bogor City Health Office and the NGO No Tobacco Community, with the aim of strengthening the implementation of the KTR Regional Regulation in nine designated areas.

"This activity aims to evaluate the implementation of the KTR Regional Regulation in modern retail and shopping centers and remind business actors to comply with display or display cigarette products, including electronic cigarettes, as well as a ban on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of cigarette products," explained Dr. Retno.

In addition, this FGD also focuses on increasing public awareness about the dangers of smoking and the importance of compliance with the KTR Regional Regulation. It is hoped that this activity can encourage better understanding, strengthen commitments, and increase cooperation between modern retail business actors, minimarkets, and shopping centers in optimizing the implementation of the KTR Regional Regulation.

In the long term, this effort is expected to help reduce the number of smokers in Bogor City and prevent children and adolescents from becoming novice smokers.