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Cigarette consumption second largest contributor to poverty: Bappenas
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National Development Planning Minister/National Development Planning Board head Bambang Brodjonegoro (The Jakarta Post/wienda parwitasari)
C
igarette consumption is the second largest contributor to poverty in the country, following rice consumption as the largest contributor, the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) stated on Tuesday.
“People shouldn’t be dependent on such an unproductive habit,” Bappenas head and National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said on Tuesday in Jakarta, as quoted by tribunnews.com.
He added that the consumption of meat in urban areas contributed 5.71 percent to the poverty rate, while the figure in rural areas was only 2.83 percent.
Bambang called on the people to stop the bad habit and start spending on more important commodities like meat so they could provide their families with more nutritious meals.
He said the government would never support a decrease in cigarette prices; instead, it would increase prices by imposing a higher excise duty on cigarettes.
“As of September 2017, cigarette consumption contributed 9.98 percent to the poverty rate in urban areas and 10.70 percent in rural areas,” Bambang said.
The contribution of cigarette consumption to the poverty rate peaked in 2014 at 11.18 percent.
Meanwhile, rice consumption has remained the largest contributor to poverty in the last four years, in both urban and rural areas. Rice consumption contributed 18.80 percent to the poverty rate in urban areas and 24.52 percent in rural areas. (bbn)
