Hundreds of people staged a rally rejecting a government draft regulation that would limit the sale of tobacco products and ban tobacco advertising, in front of the health ministry on Tuesday, according to the Jakarta Post.

The majority of the participants of the rally were from the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association, Indonesian Tobacco Community Alliance and Indonesian Cloves Farmer Association. They said the new draft would create unemployment. There are currently at least six million people employed in the tobacco sector. The draft regulates a higher production standard for tobacco products. It also forbids the sale of tobacco to people under 18 and to pregnant women, as well as sales of individual cigarettes. In addition, the draft regulation bans all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. The draft, which is supported by the National Commission on Tobacco Control, is aimed at stopping the spread of tobacco among the poor, and especially women and children. Some 60 per cent of the 34 million very poor people in Indonesia consume tobacco products, Kompas.com reported. (sra)