Jakarta’s poor consume cigarettes as a basic need, legislator says
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/02/2012 5:12 PM
The poor people of Jakarta spend more money on cigarettes than
many of their basic needs, the City Council said.
“More than 30 percent of the spending of
poor households in the city is for transportation, clothing and shelter.
However, there is another factor that contributes to their spending, which is
cigarettes,” Council Speaker Ferrial Sofyan said on Monday, referring to a
survey by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), as quoted by tribunnews.com.
He said that cigarettes had become the
second most important item of spending for many poor households.
“People that live in poverty spend their
money on cigarettes after rice,” he said.
He explained that cigarettes were detrimental
to the lives of the poor because it meant a reduction in allocations for other
more important needs. It also often resulted in the declining health of family
members, therefore leading to additional expenses.
Ferrial said that the city bylaws would
need to be strengthened to overcome the problem.
“It is about time we push for the
implementation of Bylaw No. 75/2005 on no-smoking zones,” he said.
Ferrial said that according to BPS data,
the number of Jakarta
residents living in poverty had reached 363,420, or 3.75 percent of the city’s
population. (awd)
