Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto Advocacy Division, National Tobacco Control Agency
Smoking should not be seen as normal

THE House of Representatives (DPR) has helped ease the way for the Tobacco Bill to be included in the list of legislations to be enacted this year. The National Tobacco Control Commission quickly responded with a public service ad which essentially rejected the bill.

The commission sees the draft tobacco law as counterproductive to controlling the high prevalence of smoking in Indonesia. The National Basic Health Research conducted in 2013 saw a rise of 34.2 percent in the number of smokers aged 15 and above in 2007 to 36.3 percent of the total population, which now stands over 256 million. Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the commission's advocacy division stressed that the increase was largely due to the easy access to cigarettes, the smoking habit and the industry, which are all considered as normal in Indonesia. "These three factors-despite their legality-should not be seen as normal," said Tubagus.