Spluttering Commitment

It is difficult to hope that the inclusion of pictures and warnings on the dangers of tobacco can rein in the growth of smokers in Indonesia. The law enacted on June 24 has been variously violated by cigarette manufacturers. The hope that the picture and threatening words will have an impact on start-up smokers is not working.

The responsibility for manufacturers to abide by the regulation is quite clear in Health Minister Regulation No. 28/2013. It details the shape, size of the picture that must be printed on every cigarette packet, as well as its location. In developed countries, such pictures and warnings are found on all cigarette packs. Canada started it in the 1980s. Australia followed in a more radical way. It allowed cigarette packs to be sold without a brand, without embellishments.

August 19, 2014