“I demand that all workplaces and public places become no-smoking areas,” he said in a statement received here on Monday.
The death of Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of Data, Information and Public Relations of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), should make us aware about the importance of smoke-free environments, he added.
According to Tulus, Sutopo was one of the best academics in Indonesia who died of cancer. Sutopo passed away in Guangzhou, China, while undergoing treatment due to stage IVB of lung cancer.
Sutopo claimed that he was healthy and did not smoke but was often stuck in a room full of smoke and could not help but breath the polluted air.
“Generally speaking, as a non-smoker, he is not alone. Nationally speaking, according to Basic Health Research 2013, the number of non-smokers reached more than 90 million people; more than 12 million include children from zero to four years old,” Tulus said.
He said that non-smokers are largely exposed to smoke in workplaces, even in their own houses.
“People who smoke cigarettes are 13.6 more likely to get lung cancer than people who do not smoke,” he added.
Thus, YLKI urged all parties and regional leaders to create a smoke-free environment, especially in workplaces, public places, and on public transport.
“Every single person in this world has a right to breathe fresh, healthy air that is not contaminated by smoke, wherever he or she is,” he stated.
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Dewanto, Azizah Fitriyanti, Ri
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
