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akartans are divided over whether nonsmokers will lose out after the Constitutional Court ruled that building owners are required to provide smoking rooms.

The court finalized a judicial review of the 2009 Health Law regarding smoke-free zones on Tuesday, ordering all government and privately owned buildings to “isolate” smokers in a special room.

The request for a review was filed by three smokers, Enryo Oktavian, Abhisam Demosa Makahekum and Irwan Sofyan.

They wanted the word “may” scrapped from a clause that says “workplaces and public places may provide special rooms for smoking”.

The court granted their request.

“The court deems that the word ‘may’ in the clause might lead to an absence of ‘smoking rooms’ that could accommodate the interests of smokers and the public who want to avoid the threat [of smoke] to their health,” the court ruled.

The ruling forced the Jakarta administration to annul its 2010 bylaw prohibiting smokers lighting up indoors, including in smoking rooms, Antara news agency reported. The smoking ban came after research found nonsmoking areas were contaminated by smoking rooms.

Anti-tobacco groups have also slammed the ruling, calling it a setback. They argued that not only does it encourage people to smoke, it also endangers nonsmokers.

Tulus Abadi from the Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) said that the ruling would not benefit nonsmokers, as many mall managers were reluctant to spend money building international-standard smoking areas.

“In most cases, the ducts of smoking rooms in Indonesia shopping malls are linked with the ducts of air conditioners, eventually causing the mall visitors to inhale smoke-containing air,” the YLKI boss said.

Handaka Santosa, vice president director of Agung Podomoro Land and the head of Indonesian Shopping Centers’ Association (APPBI) in Jakarta, said on Wednesday that the association was ready to establish new smoking rooms as mandated by the recent court’s ruling.

Stevenlie Satryaputra, a nonsmoker who works for a consulting firm, said he welcomed the ruling and said the 2010 decree still saw many smokers ignoring the ban. “By establishing smoking rooms, you give a clear definition to smokers of which place legally allows smoking,” he said. “This is a win-win solution for us all.”

But Claudio Suhalim, 22, doubted the policy would succeed, saying smokers have rarely been “forced” into the rooms.

“We used to have smoking rooms inside Jakarta’s malls, yet they still allowed us to smoke in other places. Why should we smoke in smoking rooms if we could smoke in the restaurants and cafés nearby?” he said.

JP/Wendra Ajistyamata