Government 'powerless' against tobacco giants

Astrid Wijaya ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 11/13/2008 10:31 AM  |  Headlines

The Indonesia Civil Society for Tobacco Control has demanded the government ratify the international tobacco convention to protect Indonesian citizens, especially young people, from smoking-related health risks and death.

The group, comprised of 132 politicians, activists and celebrities, accused the government of giving into the cigarette industry by continuing to delay the ratification.

Prominent businessman and founder of oil and gas firm Medco, Arifin Panigoro, said efforts to pressure the government to ratify the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) had been countered by the cigarette industry, which is influencing the government against ratification.

"This movement needs to be supported as we are dealing with a very powerful lobby and money from the cigarette industry. With their power, they absolutely have the capacity 'to approach' the government," he told a press conference here Wednesday.

"The ratification process has been discussed at the House of Representatives for such a long time. Yet President SBY (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) always refuses to talk about it. It shows that the government has been very weak in getting the upper hand over the tobacco industry," he added.

The WHO FCTC, signed by 160 countries, addresses several points, such as promoting taxation as a way to reduce cigarette consumption, imposing restrictions on smoking in public places, enacting comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship within five years of ratification, putting larger health warnings on cigarette packs and intensifying the fight against tobacco smuggling.

Data presented by the group show Indonesia, the only country in Asia that has not ratified the treaty, is the world's third largest consumer of tobacco, with the number of teenagers who smoke increasing by 144 percent between 1998 and 2004 and the total number of smoking-related deaths reaching 400,000 a year.

Arifin said the potential harm to tobacco farmers and street vendors -- the government's excuse for delaying ratification -- could be addressed by job creation and changing crops.

"I suggest tobacco farmers grow corn as I know they only gain a little profit from planting tobacco. The government could expand the land for farming outside Java to establish new livelihoods for them," he said.

But at any rate the cigarette industry does not make great contributions to the national economy, according to Abdillah Ahsan, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Indonesia's school of economics.

"The cigarette industry's contribution to the GDP fell from 1.9 percent in 1995 to 1.5 percent in 2005. This has broken the myth that the industry must be prioritized as it brings a big income to the country," he said.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chief patron, Hilmi Aminuddin, said it was also important to raise public awareness of the need for tobacco control through channels such as schools and universities, because the number of young smokers is still growing.

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