A House of Representatives group has proposed a bill on tobacco control, which would ban cigarette advertisements and the sale of cigarettes to minors, as well as seek higher taxes on cigarette sales.

The bill has yet to enter the deliberation process which may take some time, as many other bills are still on the waiting list. Nevertheless, the tobacco bill has stirred up controversy among industry stakeholders as thousands of tobacco companies and workers' associations were left out of its formulation. "One thing we asked for, if such a bill would go forward, is that it has to take into account the uniqueness of Indonesia; for example, the employment issue. There are more than 10 million people working in the industry. And for that reason, it makes sense for the industry to be a part of any discussion," Andrew White, corporate affairs director for PT H.M. Sampoerna told the The Jakarta Post about the issue.
The company asserted that a national law would make more sense than different regulations issued by provincial administrations such as in Jakarta and Surabaya on public smoking. (sra)