K

eeping with the promise to strengthen its campaign against smoking, the Jakarta administration has issued a new gubernatorial regulation to monitor the enforcement of the smoking ban.

Mara Oloan Siregar, the administration’s assistant for public health, said that the Gubernatorial Regulation No. 50/2012 would serve as a guideline for all administration officials to implement the smoking ban more thoroughly.

“In the new regulation, all administrative institutions and officials at all levels are obliged to routinely monitor and report on the enforcement of the smoking ban in buildings and public facilities,” Mara said.

The top official said that the new regulation would involve more administration officials upholding the ban.

The new regulation is a response to a Constitutional Court decision made earlier this year in a judicial review of the 2009 Health Law regarding smoke-free zones, which orders all government and privately owned buildings to “isolate” smokers in a special smoking area.

As a consequence of the ruling, the Jakarta administration was forced to annul its 2010 gubernatorial regulation prohibiting smokers from lighting up indoors and in smoking areas.

Gubernatorial Decree No. 88/2010 was an amendment to a 2005 bylaw on air pollution control, which stated that people were not allowed to smoke in five types of facilities, namely public transportation, healthcare buildings, schools, children’s areas and places of worship, but allowed smoking in designated areas in other buildings.

Ridwan Panjaitan, the head of law enforcement at the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD), said that smoking inside a building was still not allowed and smokers would be told to smoke outside.

“In the new regulation, building owners are obliged to display signs banning smoking and the telephone number of a hotline for citizens to easily report violators,” Ridwan said.

Building managers found violating the anti-smoking regulation will be given a warning letter to make improvements within 14 days.

Failure to obey the warning will result in the issuance of two more warning letters within two weeks. Further disobedience will lead to being publicly named as a violator, temporary building closures and the revocation of building permits.

Indonesia ranks third in the number of deaths due to smoking-related diseases globally, trailing China and India.

— JP/Andreas D. Arditya