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View all search resultsTobacco industry opposes new sweeping controls, belated clarity
The tobacco industry is up in arms over a new set of rules that could cover everything from packaging and tar and nicotine content to additives, not least because of a lack of clarity from the government for the past two years until its issuance deadline on Sunday.
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A worker shows hand-rolled ‘kretek’ (clove cigarettes) on Jan. 4, 2024, at a cigarette factory in Kudus, Central Java. (Antara/Yusuf Nugroho)
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ndustry groups and business players are threatening to protest over sweeping new controls on tobacco products set to be issued on Sunday, warning they could trigger mass layoffs, hurt sales and boost illicit trade.
The implementing regulations for Government Regulation (PP) No. 28/2024 on health are expected to be issued on July 26, when the two-year deadline for their issuance expires.
At least three provisions have raised concerns among tobacco companies: a rule on plain packaging, limits on tar and nicotine and a ban on certain additives, according to the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).
“We urge President Prabowo Subianto to impose a moratorium on the drafting and ratification of the implementing regulations for PP No. 28/2024,” Apindo public policy head Sutrisno Iwantono told a press briefing on Thursday.
Read also: Health Ministry to push regulation on tobacco plain packaging
Sutrisno said the industry supported a ban on underage sales and use of tobacco products, raising the minimum age of buyers to 21 and a requirement that 50 percent of packaging must consist of pictorial and written health warnings.
However, he argued, the Health Ministry’s proposal to standardize the color and shape of cigarette and e-cigarette packaging could lead to a surge in illicit trade in products without excise stamps, hurting businesses and reducing state revenue.
