Indonesia: Govt to Issue Tobacco Regulation Next Month

Source from:  The Jakarta Post  12/17/2012

Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi has said that the government is expected to issue its long-awaited regulation on tobacco control in January 2013. The regulation, which will be an implementation of the 2009 Health Law, will serve as a basis for local governments to provide and monitor smoke-free zones.

The government regulation should have been passed in 2010, one year after the law was passed.

"The draft of the regulation will focus on the addictive substance and health [implications of tobacco]. Almost all [relevant ministries] have agreed to the draft. We're just waiting for the President to sign it," Nafsiah said over the weekend.

The regulation is expected to make it harder for cigarette makers to advertise their products.

Local administrations will also have the obligation to protect individuals, particularly women and children, from the negative impact of tobacco.

Nafsiah added that Indonesia was in the process of joining the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

"We are the only country in Asia Pacific that has not accepted it," she said.

Nafsiah said the adoption of the convention had met with staunch opposition from the nation's tobacco industry. Enditem