Tobacco Bill Requires Graphic Warnings to be Displayed on Cigarette Packaging in Indonesia

Source from:  Jakarta Globe  01/10/2013

Cigarette producers will face tougher regulations to distribute and market cigarettes in Indonesia after the government passed a tobacco impact control bill last month.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed the long-delayed regulation, which will require cigarette producers to add graphic warnings and statements to their packaging, on Dec. 24, 2012.

Cigarette producers and importers will have 18 months from the issuance date to comply with the new regulation.
 
Article 17 of the regulation states that a warning and graphic must be placed on the top part of the front and the back of the box and it should begin with the word "Warning" using white font on a black background and should be printed clearly.

The graphic health warning should not be covered by anything.

The regulation also suggests that producers print on the side of the pack that there is "No safe dose."
 
Cigarette producers are also banned to use the words light, ultra light, mild, extra mild, low tar, slim, special, full flavor, premium, or any other words that indicate quality, image or personality.

Cigarette advertising has also been restricted.

"It should not trigger or advise people to smoke," article 27 of the regulation stated.

The regulation should have been passed sooner as mandated by the Health Law, but the plan was opposed by tobacco farmers who were worried about losing their income.
 
But the government has found a solution to the issue by stating that the article on the warning was not valid for low-scale cigarette producers who made less than 24 million cigarettes a year.

The new regulation also mandates that the local government should diversify tobacco products to ensure the livelihood of tobacco farmers.

"Diversification can be done by involving local communities as an effort to maintain tobacco production," the regulation states.

A 2011 Global Adult Tobacco Survey report listed Indonesia as the country with the second highest number of male smokers, with the rate of male smokers jumping from 53 percent in 1995 to 67 percent at the time of the survey. Enditem