Indonesia Orders Warnings on Cigarette Packages

Source from:  Manila Bulletin 07/03/2014

Indonesia told cigarette makers on Tuesday to start putting graphic warnings on cigarette packaging, the government's boldest step to reduce smoking in the world's third-largest cigarette market.

"Starting today, cigarette producers must start to print the warning" of the health hazards smoking can pose, said Minister of Social Welfare Agung Laksono. Packets that don't have the warning will be taken off the market over the next two to three months, he said, and violators will be subject to up to five years in prison and a fine of 500 million rupiah (US$41,667).

In January, 2013, the government gave companies that sell cigarettes in Indonesia an 18-month window to add a warning image to cigarette packages.

Few companies complied, according to the National Commission for Child Protection, which conducted a study on cigarette labeling in six big Indonesian cities. Just six brands from two companies out of 3,393 brands produced by 672 companies available in Indonesia added warnings, according to the commission.

The government-designed graphic will occupy about 40% of the packet, said Mr. Laksono, and will have five iterations. Three of the warnings are photos of a cancerous mouth, throat, and lungs. Another warning has a photo of a man puffing on a cigarette with two skulls in the background and the text, "Smoking Can Kill You." The fifth shows a father smoking while holding a baby, and the statement, "Smoking Close to Children Is Dangerous."

"I'm optimistic [the campaign] will be effective because smokers will see the spine-tingling graphic warnings," said Deni Kurniawan, project manager with the Indonesian Institute for Social Development. Indonesia lags its neighboring countries in implementing policy, he said.

Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam already require warning labels.

Despite some of the government's efforts to combat smoking, Indonesia is home to nearly 70 million smokers, in a population of 250 million. Indonesia has the third-largest number of smokers in the world, trailing China and India as No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

The government previously had taken steps to discourage smoking by prohibiting cigarette commercials from airing on television before 10 p.m., banning smoking in some public areas, and limiting cigarette purchases to those 17 and older. Yet the latter two bans were only laxly enforced.

Poor families on average spend 12% of their income on cigarettes, second only to rice, which accounts for 18% of their income, data from the Indonesia Tobacco Control Network shows. Rich families spend 7% of theirs on cigarettes, the data show.

The cigarette industry is politically powerful in Indonesia and has exerted policy influence. In 2009, the parliament passed health legislation that quietly removed a clause saying cigarettes contain addictive substances.

The Indonesian Cigarette Producer Association, a cigarette lobby known as GAPPRI, didn't respond to a request for comment.

The cigarette industry is a large source of tax revenue, representing more than 5% of the government's total annual collection. The government raised IDR37.06 trillion (US$3.1 billion) from excise taxes on cigarettes in 2006, and expects to collect IDR110.5 trillion this year.

Indonesian-based cigarette producers PT Wismilak Inti Makmur, PT Bentoel Investama and PT Gudang Garam, weren't  available for comment. Enditem