Civil Society Oppose Cigarette Advertisements on Television
25 January 2017 21:18 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Muhammadiyah youths and the National Coalition of Civil Society for Tobacco Control declared their support for a revised Broadcasting Law that would prohibit televised cigarette advertisements.
“First of all, we observed an overlap of regulations,” said the Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah Youth, Jasra Putra, on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. They argue that the cancellation of the Bill (RUU) would not align with the government’s commitment to reducing the number of smokers.
The state revenue from cigarette products that is claimed to reach trillions of rupiahs cannot be compared to the state budget that needs to be allocated to cure the cigarette-related diseases. According to Jasra, the government allocates around Rp300 trillion through Social Security Agency for Health (BPJS Kesehatan) to handle cigarette-related diseases.
Human Rights Working Group representative, Daniel Awigra, provided the reasons for their rejection. According to the institution, cigarette advertisements on television introduces and influences cigarettes to children. “Don't forget that their broadcast uses public frequency,” he said.
Daniel argued that cigarette advertisements paint themselves as something that is cool. “It’s the other way around in reality.” Cigarette ads are considered to be manipulative and deceptive. “That’s what WHO said, not me,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Raya Indonesia representative Hery Chariansyah said that the Bill must be guarded in its process. “Don’t let any fishy business exist between the government and the cigarette industry.”
ANDRI KURNIAWATI | BRIAN HIKARI