In an attempt to cut down on the number of young smokers, the Tangerang municipality has issued a regulation prohibiting smoking at schools, an official said Thursday.
"We have introduced the municipal regulation at public and private schools," said Ican Yudianto, head of the administration's legal department.
He added the regulation would affect not only students from elementary through to senior high school, but also teachers and other school staff.
He said Mayor Wahidin Halim had issued the new regulation after witnessing students smoking freely in schools. The mayor, Ican went on, had described smoking as "the gateway to a drug habit".
Ican said the administration did not plan to restrict smoking in all public places, as implemented in Jakarta.
"We will need to conduct a study from all aspects before issuing such a regulation," he said.
He added if the smoking ban at schools was found to be effective in curbing the number of young smokers, the administration would consider a smoking ban in all public areas.
Administration spokesman Saiful Rohman said the punishment for violators would be left up to the respective schools.
"We call on students and community members to monitor the implementation of the regulation. They can file complaints with the head of the education agency about any violations," he said.
In response to the smoking ban, Pian, 16, a student at state vocational school SMK 4, said he and his friends had yet to hear about the new regulation.
"We don't know when the school smoking ban begins. However, we never smoke at school during school hours. And we always smoke outside the school compound," he said.
Andri, a student at private vocational school SMK Otomotif Al Husna, also claimed ignorance of the smoking ban.
"It's no use issuing a ban on smoking in school, because we smoke after school," he said.
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