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'It is me in the picture', man on tobacco warning label says
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Dadang Mulya shows a cigarette pack that he claims depicts his face. (Tribun Jabar/Ahmad Imam Baehaqi)
M
uch of the public, especially smokers, are familiar with a pictorial warning label for cigarette boxes that depicts a man puffing a cigarette while holding a baby.
For years now, the picture, which is accompanied by a written warning that reads, “Smoking near children will endanger their health”, can be found on cigarette shelves in stores across the country. A man from Kuningan, West Java, has recently claimed that he is the man in the picture.
The man, 42-year-old Dadang Mulya, protested against the use of the picture, which has been used for commercial purposes. He initially planned to sue the cigarette companies that allegedly used his photo without consent.
“I am certain that it is my photo, although many have doubted it,” he said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Tuesday.
He claimed that the picture was taken in 2012 when the father of four was watching a soccer match in his village. During the match, a cigarette salesperson approached him and asked him to puff cigarette smoke while holding his second son, Rizki Indriawan, who was an infant at the time, while a man inside a car took his picture.
Dadang, who does not have a fixed job, said he did not understand the purpose of the photo until he saw his face on cigarette boxes. The avid smoker told his friends and neighbors about it but nobody believed him, he added.
He initially did not know where to go and what steps to take to protest the alleged use of his face on the warning label. But, after a recent discussion with his friend, he had intended to make a royalty claim. He appointed an attorney on Monday to proceed with legal matters before deciding to withdraw the suit the following day.
“I don’t want to demand anything. I just want to bring attention to the company or the government over the use of my face,” he said.
Indonesia has one of the highest rates of cigarette use in the world. It is the only country in Asia that has not signed and ratified the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
Tobacco consumption in the country has continued to increase because of weak tobacco control and a strong tobacco culture. In addition, big companies, viewing Indonesia as a large tobacco market, have targeted young children in recent years.
The 2016 Survey on Health Indicators in Indonesia by the Health Ministry found that the government was not on track to meet its goal of reducing the prevalence of smoking among people aged 10 to 18 years old. The rate for the demographic stood at 8.8 percent in 2016, much higher than the government's target of 5.4 percent by 2019. (dpk/rin)
