I believe that the government will mull over twice to take any radical step against the cigarette industry.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Public policy observer from the Gadjah Mada University Satria Aji Imawan opined that the government's efforts to decrease the prevalence of smoking is not yet optimal.

This is apparent from the number of smokers in Indonesia that still remain high, reaching some 65.7 million people.

"The government needs to intensify its efforts to reduce the prevalence of smokers in Indonesia by involving entrepreneurs from the tobacco industry," Imawan noted in his statement received here on Saturday.

According to the observer, one of the approaches for the government to lower the prevalence of smoking is through putting in place a special regulation for other processed tobacco products (HPTL).

However, a plan is still lacking to implement that regulation.

This is despite the fact that ample research was conducted into these products, and they were proven to have lower health risks as compared to cigarettes, Imawan stated.

Related news: Smoking lowers immunity, raises risk of exposure to COVID-19: Experts

The observer opined that the government was hesitant to make a move since the tobacco industry was one of the nation's most lucrative industries.

"I believe that the government will mull over twice to take any radical step against the cigarette industry," Imawan pointed out.

Meanwhile, during a Global Forum on Nicotine discussion, Director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network Cliff Douglas stated that implementation of the policy related to this product should take into account the available research, especially those conducted by the tobacco industry.

Douglas believes that this is done to create a proportional policy.

Douglas opined that policymakers do not need to immediately believe anything that the tobacco industry has pushed forth. However, they can at least make an effort to verify the data of the research results from the tobacco industry.

Cliff is optimistic that his colleagues in the health sector would not be wary of taking this step.
Related news: Smoke-free environment is a must to protect society: YLKI



Translator: Royke Sinaga, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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