Jakarta
Children and teenagers are prone to be the main target of the cigarette industry, medical doctors, professors, and activists said Saturday. Speaking in a discussion on the need for picture warnings on cigarette packs, they agreed that as the third biggest consumer of cigarettes in the world (according to the World Health Organization 2008 data), Indonesia needed to more intensely protect children and adolescents. They strongly proposed warnings in the packages had to include images of the dangers of smoking and its effects, such as lung cancer, mouth cancer and strokes. The speakers said pictures would be more effective than words. "The cigarette industry targets children and adolescents, for they are future smokers," said M. Joni, deputy head of the National Commission on Child Protection. According to the Central Statistical Agency, a high...