TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Smoking prevalence rate among underage people in Indonesia continues to increase in an alarming rate. Smoking prevalence rate among teenagers under 18 years-old increased from 7.2 percent to 8.8 percent in 2015.
"Our goal is to reduce smoking prevalence rate among people under 18 years-old to 6.4 percent in 2016 and to 5.4 percent in 2019. But in reality, it’s currently increasing significantly," said M. Subuh, Director General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health on Saturday, November 26, 2016.
Subuh explained that currently smoking prevalence rate in Indonesian is worrying. Around one-third of the Indonesians are recorded to be active smokers. The country's under-15 years-old smoking population is currently the highest in the world right after China and India.
According to Subuh, smoking is the major contributor of non-transmitted diseases compared to other factors. An active smoker has much higher risk to suffer from coronary heart disease.
"As an attempt to control non-transmitted diseases, establishing non-smoking areas has become the main effort. We appreciate regional officials who have currently established policies on non-smoking areas," Subuh said.
