Videotron Protest Shows Cigarette Advertisement In Khatib Sulaiman Area, West Sumatra Ruandu Complains To Bapenda

Ruandu and Young Reformers and the Indonesian Youth Council for Tobacco Control West Sumatra have an audience with the Head of Bapenda (ANTARA)

PADANG - The World Children's Space Foundation (Ruandu) along with the Young Reformers and the Indonesian Youth Council for Tobacco Control West Sumatra still encounter videotrons playing cigarette advertisements in the city of Padang.

"We found that there is a new cigarette videotron in the Khatib Sulaiman area that broadcasts a six-minute long cigarette advertisement video for each edition," said Ruandu Foundation Program Manager Wanda Leksmana in Padang, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, January 26.

In fact, according to Wanda, the ban on playing cigarette advertisements in public spaces has been enforced. This finding was brought up by Ruandu during an audience with the Head of the Regional Revenue Agency (Bapenda) of Padang City, Yosefriawan, as the supervisor of outdoor advertising and promotion in Padang City.

According to him, the cigarette videotron has been broadcast in the last few days and it is deemed necessary to be punished for violating the Perwako rules regarding the prohibition of cigarette advertising.

Then, his party also still found two videotrons showing cigarette advertisements which since 2018 and until early 2022 are still playing these advertisements.

"So far, we have often reported it, but the cigarette videotron is still showing on the grounds that it has an exclusive contract," he said.

He hopes for the commitment of the local government, which since 2018 has banned cigarette advertisements in the city of Padang and takes action against videotron managers at three points who violate the rules.

Moreover, he said, the City of Padang already has the Padang City Regional Regulation Number 12 of 2019 concerning Child Friendly Cities and the Padang Mayor's Regulation Number 46 of 2017 concerning the Implementation of Advertisements.

"The two regulations emphasize that there should be no cigarette billboard content and the business world is prohibited from advertising cigarettes in the city of Padang," he said.

As an institution that advocates for child-friendly district/city policies in West Sumatra, the Ruandu Foundation has pushed for the issue of protecting children from tobacco products, by banning cigarette advertisements in Padang City since 2014.

The main purpose of banning cigarette advertisements, he said, was to protect children in the city of Padang from exposure to cigarette promotion and sponsorship advertisements.

According to Wanda Leksmana, children are the target of cigarette advertisements, so that if cigarette advertisements are not banned, children now and in the future will become novice smokers, resulting in an increase in the prevalence of child smokers.

Meanwhile, the Head of Bapenda Padang, Yosefriawan, expressed his gratitude for the concern of the Ruandu Foundation, the Young Reformers and the Indonesian Youth Council for Tobacco Control, who helped oversee the policies of the Padang City Government.

"For cigarette videotrons that were reported to be broadcast in the Khatib Sulaiman area, we have contacted the billboard organizer and will take strict action not to display cigarette advertisements on videotron," he said.

He ensured that if they still violated it, strict sanctions in the form of banning videotron from showing up to the revocation of advertising licenses could be carried out according to regulations.

Meanwhile, the two cigarette videotron points that still existed in the previous year, he said, would be studied with the team according to regulations because the initial information obtained was that the cigarette videotron had a long contract.

"I will immediately respond to this and ask for the support of all parties to continue to oversee the Padang City Government's policy to always be committed to banning cigarette advertising," he said.