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Surakarta bans smoking at City Hall, strives to become child-friendly city
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Protecting children: As part of his effort to make Surakarta a child-friendly city mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo on Sunday announced that Surakarta City Hall had become a smoke free zone. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
T
he Surakarta City Hall, Central Java, has been declared a cigarette smoke free area as of June 1. In addition to citing health reasons, the Surakarta administration said the smoke-free zone was also implemented as part of its plan to make Surakarta a child-friendly city.
“Surakarta has failed to become a child-friendly city because of a massive exposure of cigarette advertisements in urban areas and there are almost no cigarette prohibitions in public spaces,” Surakarta mayor FX Hadi “Rudy” Rudyatmo said on Sunday. Following the institution of the smoking ban, Public Order Agency personnel demolished smoking zones set up in several areas at Surakarta City Hall several years ago.
“Smoking areas are not effective [to protect people from secondhand smoke].The total smoking ban will be applied to both civil servants and people in general,” Rudy said.
He asserted that anyone who wanted to smoke could go outside the City Hall. Those found smoking would be driven out from the area and indiscipline sanctions would be imposed on civil servants who committed such violations.
Rudy said that in the near future, smoking bans would also be imposed in other government offices. The Surakarta administration aimed to reduce cigarette advertisements in stages as well, he added.
“Reducing cigarette ads cannot be conducted all at once because it is related to contracts we have signed with advertisers. Advertisements have become a revenue source but like it or not, we must limit them,” said Rudy. (foy/ebf)
