The 2018 Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) shows that the prevalence of smokers aged 10 to 18 years in the country has increased from 7.2 percent in 2013 to 9.1 percent in 2018.

The figure puts Indonesia, which has one of the world’s most liberal policies on tobacco, at the top of the list among other Asia-Pacific countries.

“We are considering proposing that smoking prevention be added into the Child Protection Law as we have received suggestions from various parties,” the ministry’s child protection deputy, Nahar, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

The Child Protection Law regulates preventing children from consuming, producing and distributing illegal drugs, psychotropic drugs and addictive substances, but does not specifically talk about smoking.

“The current law doesn’t cover smoking prevention or impose sanctions on parties who force and let children smoke. It is a form of neglect and is opposed to the Constitution, which ensures children’s right to grow and live,” Nahar said.

He added that a more comprehensive regulation, starting with prevention, protection and control, was necessary — with parents or adults having to face criminal charges if they force or let children smoke.

Nahar said, however, that efforts to curb smoking among children cannot stop at a revised Child Protection Law, but need stronger tobacco control in general.

Without strong tobacco control, the prevalence of Indonesian smokers aged under 18 years may continue to grow, a 2018 study by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) reveals.

The study predicted the figure would be 10.7 percent by 2019, 15 percent by 2024 and 16 percent by 2030, putting Indonesia at risk of failing to reap from a huge working age group, which would represent 70 percent of the total population by 2030.

Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Iskan Qolba Lubis, also deputy chairman of House Commission VIII, which oversees religious and social affairs, lauded the ministry’s initiative, but questioned the government’s general political will to curb smoking among children.

He said that although a revised Child Protection Law could help with prevention efforts, reducing the prevalence of young smokers would require the commitment of concerned ministries, as well as stricter regulations on tobacco control that prioritize public health over the tobacco industry.

“There should first be stern ‘parent’ laws as the basis of the Child Protection Law, such as on tobacco industry and public health,” Iskan told the Post.

He expressed doubts, however, that the country would get stricter control of tobacco soon unless the government and some politicians remove themselves from any conflicts of interest.

Criticisms arose after the Finance Ministry decided not to increase the cigarette excise in 2019, ending a four-year policy of raising excise for tobacco products.

The decision prompted critics to accuse President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo of betraying his own development agenda, in which he and Vice President Jusuf Kalla pledged to double the tax from 2015 to 2019.

The chairman of the National Commission on Tobacco Control, Prijo Sidipratomo, said the government had done little to achieve the target set by the Jokowi administration in the 2014 to 2019 National Mid-term Development Plan to reduce the prevalence of smokers aged less than 18 years to 5.4 percent in 2019.

He said that existing regulations to protect children from smoking had not been monitored and evaluated by the concerned ministries.

He cited, for example, the law requiring that cigarettes only be sold to and consumed by adults aged 18 and above, which has not been monitored by the Health Ministry. As a result, no sanctions are imposed on retailers who sell cigarettes to underage buyers, especially with cigarettes being sold at 7 US cents each at the cheapest.

“If President Jokowi is re-elected, he should start picking ministers who are capable and passionate at their jobs. Picking the normal and ‘business as usual’ ones will not help reduce the number of young smokers in the country,” Prijo said.

Lentera Anak Foundation chairwoman Lisda Sundari said that Indonesia’s laws on tobacco were not siding with the children, citing the country’s regulation on tobacco advertising as an example.

Indonesia is the only Southeast Asian country that allows direct tobacco advertising. Although the advertisements are restricted on TV and radio to designated hours to reduce exposure to children, youngsters can still be exposed through billboards and stalls, among other means.

“A revision in the Child Protection Law should also include prevention efforts, such as controlling advertisements and children’s access to cigarettes. They should also be protected from being the target of tobacco companies’ promotions or corporate social responsibility programs,” she said. (ars)

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