Indonesia Needs To Copy European Ways In Handling Cigarette Addiction

Anti-smoking illustration (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Public Health Expert drg. Laifa Annisa said the Indonesian government needed to imitate European methods in dealing with problems in people who were addicted to smoking.

"I know that in the Netherlands, for example, they have a clinic to deal with addiction, one of which is for cigarettes. So there is indeed a special smoking session (in order to quit smoking) that is programmed. Some use alternative products as instruments," Laifa said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, May 24.

Laifa said, in the Netherlands, his government seeks to use various mediums to help cure addiction, including using alternative products as instruments.

This approach can be used as a lesson, especially in creating structured programs using alternative tobacco products to reduce the number of adult smokers.

Although there are still challenges for people who smoke. A recent research from IPSOS in 2023 shows that about 70 percent of Indonesian smokers consider vape the same or more dangerous than conventional cigarettes.

"This assumption certainly needs to be straightened out if Indonesia wants to learn from other countries to reduce the prevalence of smokers in the country," said the lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UIN Jakarta.

According to him, the call for targeted regulation for the vape industry is an opportunity for progress. With transparency, accountability, and responsible practices, regulation can improve public health standards while encouraging innovation.

Previously, Nikotin and Public Health Expert Dr. Karl Fagerstrom said debates over the risk of e-cigarette products and other alternative products had been discussed by international health experts at the "No Smoke, Less Harm" forum on May 7, 2024 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Fagerstrom said Sweden is one example of the successful implementation of alternative tobacco products as part of the smoking-stop campaign.

The difference between cigarettes and the use of smokeless products is very important. Even though nicotine is addictive, it does not cause serious illness related to smoking," he said.

He explained that the findings support the shift from total nicotine stops to switching to less dangerous alternatives for smokers who cannot stop completely.

Furthermore, Facerstrom explained that Sweden is the best example when smokeless tobacco products are given space.

Although nicotine consumption in Sweden and other European countries is on average almost the same, Sweden's lung cancer rate is much lower by 41 percent and tobacco-related deaths are less.

He considered this to be because the nicotine products used by Swedish citizens were alternative tobacco products such as nicotine bags or e-cigarettes.

"Experiences in Sweden show that overcoming misinformation about nicotine in society can result in health policies that protect the public more," he said.