“We will continue to push for the increase. In fact, our excise tax calculation method is still too complicated compared to other countries, where it is much simpler,” director of non-communicable diseases at the ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said at a press conference on Thursday.
The Finance Ministry has been asked to raise the excise tax on tobacco products to reduce their affordability and finance control efforts, including promotional and preventive initiatives to reduce smoking rates, she informed.
The Health Ministry is also encouraging other ministries and institutions to take firm steps to prevent tobacco industry interference and decline cooperation or involvement with organizations that benefit from the industry.
Monitoring and enforcement of existing bans on all forms of tobacco product advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, which now target first-time smokers, are also being prioritized, Tarmizi said.
The ministry is implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) MPOWER tobacco control strategy, which is designed to help countries control tobacco products and reduce smoking rates.
The strategy includes printing pictorial health warnings on cigarette packaging.
According to Tarmizi, the size of the pictorial health warning in Indonesia is the standard 50 percent of the packaging, which is smaller than in several other ASEAN countries.
In addition, the implementation of smoke-free areas (KTR) is also being encouraged, especially in public places.
“We are working with the Ministry of Home Affairs to implement KTR,” she said.
These efforts are being intensified due to the high percentage of smokers aged 15 and over in Indonesia. Although the prevalence rate is decreasing, when coupled with population growth, the total number of individuals is increasing.
Based on the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey (SKI) conducted by the Ministry of Health, the number of active smokers is estimated to have reached 70 million, with 7.4% of these smokers aged 10-18.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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