Indonesia introduces new anti-smoking measures to protect children and adolescents

Indonesia has raised the age of sale of tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21 and banned advertising of these products on websites, apps and social media platforms. The sale of single cigarettes has also been banned in an effort to limit their purchase by younger people.

In a decree signed by President Joko Widodo last week that came into effect immediately, the country also plans to ban packs containing fewer than 20 cigarettes and prohibit the sale of tobacco within 200 meters of schools and playgrounds. The measures are aimed at "reducing the prevalence of smokers and preventing early smoking."[1].

High tobacco and nicotine consumption among children and adolescents

In 2022, an estimated 79.3 million adults aged 15 and above in Indonesia use tobacco products. This ranks Indonesia third globally and second in the WHO South-East Asia region in terms of the number of tobacco product users. While overall tobacco use is declining worldwide, Indonesia is one of six countries where it is expected to increase by 2030. According to the latest Global Student Health Survey in Indonesian Schools, tobacco use among adolescents aged 13–17 years increased from 13.6 % in 2015 to 23 % in 2023, meaning that more than one in five young Indonesians now use some form of tobacco product. The study also shows that in 2023, 12.6 % of students aged 13 to 17 reported using e-cigarettes, a rate significantly higher than that of the adult population (3%)[2].

Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stressed that the new provisions represent a significant step forward in protecting young people and should sooner or later ease the burden on the country's health infrastructure, which has been weakened by high tobacco consumption. The number of sick patients is in the millions. Nearly 300,000 Indonesians die each year from illnesses attributable to smoking, and 50,000 of these deaths are caused by passive smoking.

Partial bans to prevent early smoking

Indonesia is one of the few countries in the world that has not ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This situation is the result of pressure from the tobacco industry lobby, which is very strong in the country. Advertising for tobacco products is still omnipresent and regulations in this area are partial and considered insufficient. The same is true of smoking bans, which are also considered insufficient to protect Indonesians. Finally, access to tobacco products, particularly for children and adolescents, remains easy. The sale of individual cigarettes, effective in many stores across the country, for €0.10 per unit, makes it easier for young people to start smoking and consume. Similarly, packs containing fewer than twenty cigarettes, known as "kiddie packs", or "children's packs", make it easier for young people to buy cigarettes. Their price is lower and this process makes cigarettes more affordable and therefore more likely to be purchased. These sales methods should disappear.

Following a growing number of countries around the world, Indonesia has also raised the age of sale of tobacco products to 21. The country plans to ban the sale of tobacco products near establishments frequented by children (schools, playgrounds).

With these announcements, the government intends to act to prevent young people from starting to smoke and to reduce the prevalence of smoking.

Advertising for conventional cigarettes and vaping products will be banned on the internet and social media. The government is asking retailers to verify the age of the purchaser for these products online. Penalties for non-compliance range from a written reprimand to a temporary suspension of the retail license.

According to anti-smoking stakeholders, the government must ensure that all of these measures are properly implemented to be effective. While in practice, it is already prohibited to sell tobacco products to minors under the age of eighteen in Indonesia, this measure is only very little applied and controlled, both online and in points of sale. In addition, some of the bans put in place by the government are only partial since the sale of individual cigarettes only concerns manufactured cigarettes but not cigars or kreteks (cigarettes containing tobacco and cloves), popular with Indonesians.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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