Youth Organizations Ask Prabowo to Pass Protection Rules from Cigarette Smoke

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Dozens of youth organizations have written to President Subianto to immediately implement regulations containing public health protection as his commitment in the first 100 days of work.

The Chairperson of the Indonesian Youth Council for Tactical Changes, Manik Marganamahendra, said that Prabowo needs to immediately sign Government Regulation PP Number 28 of 2024 concerning the Implementing Regulations of Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning Health, as well as strengthening its derivative regulations. "These 100 days of government are actually a momentum for Mr. Prabowo to prove his commitment to protecting public health," said Manik, in a written statement, Thursday, February 6, 2025.

He considered this momentum as a real test of the government's seriousness in building superior human resources. Moreover, Indonesia is predicted to achieve the vision of Golden Indonesia 2045. On the other hand, the Indonesian Health Survey in 2023 showed that the number of active smokers in Indonesia reached 70 million people.

As many as 7.4 percent of the number of smokers are children and adolescents aged 10-18 years. The 15-19 age group is the age group where children start smoking the most (56.5 percent). Meanwhile, 18.4 percent of children aged 10-14 have also started smoking. Manik said that it cannot be denied that Indonesia is still a country with a high prevalence of smokers in the world.

The economic impact of cigarette consumption is no joke. Zanfina's research in 2020 stated that the total cost of lost productivity due to smoking reached Rp2,755.5 trillion. This figure is almost equivalent to the State Budget.

On an annual scale, Indonesia has lost Rp153 trillion in Gross Domestic Product due to cigarettes. The 2022 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) study revealed that e-cigarette users have increased 10-fold in the last decade - from 0.3 percent (2011) to 3.0 percent (2021). This means that the industry continues to target young people with alternative products that are no less dangerous.

Manik added that Prabowo had campaigned to emphasize the importance of investing in health to improving the quality of human resources. However, this promise will not be realized without enforcing PP number 28 of 2024. "Otherwise, the promise risks becoming mere rhetoric. Or just written on paper," he said.

IYCTC Program Manager Ni Made Shellasih, said that without implementing this regulation, Indonesia will lose momentum to save the younger generation from the grip of the cigarette industry. "At least, the policy of increasing cigarette excise, a total ban on cigarette advertising in digital-based media, and protecting public spaces from exposure to cigarette smoke should not stagnate," he said.

IYCTC together with dozens of youth organizations, including Toco Ranger, PARTYcipation, KPK Sehat FKM Universitas Indonesia, Beyond Health Indonesia, said that regulation is an important point in controlling the consumption of products. So far, it has threatened the health and productivity of the nation.

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