Indonesia’s Muhammadiyah Student Association led hundreds of young people in Jakarta to gather at the Ministry of Health on Oct. 15, 2024 to express their strong support for the ministry’s new tobacco regulation. More than 260 students participated in the peaceful demonstration, which called for stricter controls on smoking and vaping to protect Indonesians from the dangers of tobacco. The new regulation, signed by President Joko Widodo on July 26, 2024, introduces tougher restrictions on both traditional and electronic cigarettes.
Outside the Ministry of Health headquarters, demonstrators held banners and posters urging the government to protect them from tobacco. They voiced support for new pictorial health warnings and standardized packaging and called for stricter regulations to curb tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Dr. Benget Saragih, Tobacco Control Focal Point at the Ministry of Health, reassured the protesters that the ministry is committed to public health and their concerns. “Your voices are essential in this fight against tobacco,” he said. “We hear you, and we are committed to reinforcing these protections.”
Earlier in the month, the Indonesia Federation of Tobacco Cigarette, Food, and Beverage Workers Union, which opposes the new regulations, staged a counter protest at the Ministry of Health. Union members voiced opposition to the new law’s provisions on standardized packaging, a set of measures that limit or prohibit the use of logos, colors, brand images and promotional information on packaging, with a goal of reducing the appeal of tobacco products and smoking rates. The protesters expressed concerns about the impact on their jobs. In response, youth-led demonstrations publicly supported the new rules, with youth leaders advocating for a tobacco-free generation.
Under the new rules, smoking and vaping are now banned in health care facilities, schools, religious sites, public transport, and all indoor public and workplace areas. Additional measures include expanded health warnings on cigarette packaging, a ban on single-stick cigarette sales, restrictions on sales near schools, raising the minimum purchasing age to 21, and banning sales to pregnant women. Advertising is now prohibited on social media and outdoor ads are restricted within 500 meters of schools or playgrounds. Notably, before this went into effect, electronic cigarettes were not regulated at all. Now they are subject to all the rules affecting traditional cigarettes.
“Vital Strategies stands for comprehensive tobacco control and commends the Ministry of Health’s efforts to create a tobacco-free society,” said Dr. Tara Singh Bam, Vital Strategies’ Regional Director for Tobacco Control in the Asia Pacific region.
To learn more about Vital Strategies’ efforts to strengthen and enforce tobacco control in Indonesia, please visit the Tobacco Control Policy Implementation Hub.