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Minister calls for more studies on impact of tobacco consumption
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Health talk: Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani and Health Minister Nila Moeloek in discussion ahead of a meeting at the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Ministry office in Jakarta on Oct.23.
(Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)
I
ndonesia needs more studies conducted by local researchers to reveal the impact of tobacco consumption on health and health care costs to the country.
This call was made by Health Minister Nila Moeloek on Wednesday.
“We have often talked about the impact of tobacco use in the country, but we are just quoting information and data on the matter from reports by researchers in foreign countries,” Nila said, as quoted by Antara in Jakarta.
As the National Health Insurance (JKN) program had been implemented in Indonesia, it is actually easier for researchers to conduct a study on the impact of tobacco consumption to public health and healthcare costs needed to treat tobacco-related diseases, she said.
The Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) data shows that 20 to 25 percent of JKN expenditure went to the treatment of non-communicable diseases related to tobacco consumption, such as cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.
Nila said a study conducted by the Russian government found that the high number of tuberculosis incidences in the country was related to alcohol and tobacco consumption.
“It’s probable that our researchers can conduct such a study given the high number of smokers in Indonesia.”
At Wednesday's event, Nila launched a book entitled Health and Economic Cost of Tobacco in Indonesia composed from a study conducted by the Health Ministry in collaboration with researchers from the University of Indonesia and Airlangga University. (afr/ebf)
