Ministry Of Health: Cigarettes Can Still Be Purchased At Retail, Affecting The Amount Of Consumption That Does Not Decrease During The COVID-19 Pandemic

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JAKARTA - Acting Director General of Public Health of the Ministry of Health Kartini Rusandi assesses that the price of cigarettes is still too cheap so that it is easily accessible to the public.

“Cigarettes can also be bought in retail or in bars. This is very influential on why the number of cigarette consumption has not decreased amid COVID-19," Kartini said in the webinar "The Footprint of Advocacy for Cigarette Prices in Indonesia", reported by Antara, Tuesday, November 2.

According to him, the Ministry of Health together with other ministries and institutions are continuously trying to find a middle point for controlling cigarettes to create a golden generation in 2045.

"Our task is how to prepare a superior, productive, and competitive generation, especially for the 2045 Golden Generation. We can't help it, we have to prepare them from the time they are in the womb," he said.

So far, the government has been controlling cigarettes as well as controlling COVID-19, with a 'gas and brake' policy. This is so that cigarette consumption can still be controlled without destroying the cigarette industry.

Cigarette control, Kartini emphasized, needs to be done because so far many people who smoke are more concerned with buying cigarettes than meeting children's nutritional intake.

“Many people prefer smoking to buying eggs for their children. Even though we know that there are children who are stunted and so on, who need good food such as protein, so eggs are important,” he added.

So far, the Ministry of Health has collaborated with other ministries, not only related to the price of cigarettes, but also the prohibition of advertising with the appearance of images of cigarettes, enlargement of warning images of the dangers of smoking on cigarette packs, expansion of the implementation of Non-Smoking Areas (KTR), and regulation of production and distribution of cigarettes. .

“We have made many efforts, and various efforts have been made to cooperate with other ministries, including those that regulate the economic side. Moreover, our high-ranking officials are also financial people so that they become a channel to make better efforts to overcome health problems," he said.