Bill lacks support from lawmakers ahead of elections

A draft law to control the health impacts from tobacco products looks unlikely to be passed by the House of Representatives this year amid lack of support from legislators busy running for reelection.

Antitobacco activists said Friday that legislators from tobacco-producing constituencies, mainly in East and Central Java, were withdrawing their support for the bill for fear of losing votes.

"It makes the fate of the tobacco control bill unclear," said Tulus Abadi of the Indonesia Consumers Foundation (YLKI).

He added one group in East Java had threatened not to vote in the April 9 polls for legislators who supported the deliberation of the bill.

"People claiming to be tobacco farmers are launching a black campaign against legislators who back the tobacco control bill. This has made some candidates, mainly from the National Awakening Party *PKB* drop their support for the bill."

Thousands of farmers held a rally in Temanggung, Central Java, last week to protest the bill, saying it would cause them huge losses.

They also slammed a fatwa by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) that banned smoking in public.

About 90 percent of the country's tobacco farms, or 170,000 hectares, are located in East Java, Central Java and West Nusa Tenggara.

Activists from the YLKI, the Indonesian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IFPPD) and the Tobacco Control Support Center submitted the bill to the House in 2006.

The bill was initially on the House's priority list for deliberation this year after getting support from most legislators.

"We submitted a revised version of the bill to the House, but there has been no progress. They have yet to form a committee to discuss it," said IFPPD chairwoman Sri Utari.

The bill calls for limits on tobacco advertisements, including in printed and electronic media, and the sponsorship by tobacco firms of sports and entertainment events.

Tobacco Control Support Center chairwoman Widyastuti Soerojo denied claims the bill was intended to harm tobacco farmers.

"It's not aimed at *killing' the tobacco industry, only at protecting the public and curbing the rise in the number of new smokers, mostly children and youths," she said.

A study by the University of Indonesia's Demography Institute found cigarette consumption continued to increase, with about 202 billion cigarettes sold in 2004 from only 35 billion in 1971.

But the increase had not benefitted tobacco farmers, it added.

The institute said tobacco farms only totaled 200,000 hectares in 2004, from 170,000 hectares in 1997.

Institute researcher Abdillah Ahsan said tobacco farmers were paid only Rp 413,374 each per month, far below the national minimum wage.

State revenue from the tobacco industry amounted to Rp 52 trillion in 2006, making the industry the country's largest taxpayer.

The activists also expressed concern over poor political will on the part of the government to ratify the 2005 WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FTCT).

Antitobacco activists filed a class action lawsuit against the government and the House for their reluctance to ratify the treaty, accusing them of failing to protect Indonesians from the dangers of smoking.

The Central Jakarta District Court will issue a verdict next month.