Ministry Of Health: Rules For Tobacco Are Not Lost In RPP Health

Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Indonesian Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi in a discussion on lung cancer which was attended in Jakarta, Tuesday (28/11/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Roche Indonesia)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health ensures that the rules regarding tobacco restrictions and derivative products are not lost in the Draft Government Regulation (RPP) concerning the Implementation of Law (UU) No. 17 of 2023 (Health Law) concerning the Safety of Addictive Substances. "It's still there, if it's gone, it's gone PP (109/12 concerning Safeguarding Addictive Substances)," said Head of the Indonesian Ministry of Health's Communication and Public Service Bureau (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi when met in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, November 28. Nadia said the Health RPP will be equipped with new things that have not been listed in PP No. 109 of 2012, such as sales of cigarettes in person, e-cigarettes or vapes, and so on. He assessed that there are strict regulations related to tobacco such as Malaysia and Singapore being able to reduce the burden of state spending on handling diseases triggered by tobacco. "We will be concerned there, we know that tobacco and its derivatives are one of the risk factors for non-communicable diseases. The problem of the cost of health will be a more serious matter. We don't want the burden on health costs next year to get heavier," he said. Nadia revealed that currently the process of drafting the Health RPP is ongoing at the harmonization stage with other relevant ministries. He hopes that the preparation process can be completed in December. Regarding differences of opinion between ministries, he stated that this was a common pros and cons, and was not a rejection. "No, in principle, there is no rejection of the ministry. Maybe it's just a way of discussing it, like that," he said.

For this reason, Nadia said that the harmonization of the RPP Kesehatan which is currently being carried out is very important to be done, in order to find an agreement and the best solution to a problem.