TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsBusinesses breathe fire over smoke-free zones expansion in Jakarta
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
This no smoking sign is taken in a children's playground in Yogyakarta on June 27, 2024.
(Courtesy of/Shutterstock)
J
akarta’s plan to expand smoke-free zones and tighten cigarette sales regulations has been met with strong pushback from business groups, who warn that the new rules could eat into revenues and disrupt livelihoods.
The Jakarta City Council’s special committee (pansus) finalized the draft of a long-delayed smoke-free zones bylaw on Monday, in line with a 2024 central government regulation requiring all regional administrations to adopt such measures.
The bylaw bans cigarette sales within 200 meters of schools and playgrounds and prohibits the sale of loose cigarettes, commonplace across Indonesia, where countless street vendors and small kiosks sell them by the individual stick.
In addition to these provisions, the draft also restricts smoking in crowded public areas, including traditional and modern markets, and requires businesses to obtain special permits to sell tobacco products.
Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung confirmed that councilors had backed extending restrictions to entertainment venues such as karaoke lounges, nightclubs and live music cafés.
Read also: Jakarta Police’s ‘ojol’ tip-off draws criticism over abuse, timing
However, small businesses say they are bracing for a blow. Cigarettes remain one of the best-selling items at neighborhood food stalls like warteg, short for warung Tegal that specifically serve Javanese food.
