Regulate smoking, Preventing Poverty

No Smoking

 
At a time when almost all countries affirm commitments to control the adverse effects of tobacco, Indonesia actually still in doubt. The tug of economic interests on behalf of tobacco farmers and cigarette factory workers to sacrifice people's right to a healthy life.

Secretary General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Margaret Chan in various occasions during the World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) in Singapore, 20-24 March, aggressiveness reminiscent of the tobacco industry to fight for their interests. With the resources they have, the tobacco industry can influence tobacco control policy makers in various countries.

Mary Asunta of Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SATCA) said, the disappearance of Paragraph 2 of Article 113 of Law Number 36 Year 2009 on Health is a testament to the strength of the intervention in influencing the tobacco industry.

Verses that mention the loss of tobacco products as addictive substance in tobacco industry clearly demonstrate an affair with politicians and the bureaucracy. After paragraph restored tobacco, efforts to raise public support through academic and religious organizations do, including encouraging the filing of the material to the Constitutional Court.

In the interests of the tobacco industry uses tobacco farmers, factory workers, and home-based tobacco industry as a shield. The group is always highlighted as victims of various tobacco control policies.

In fact, when the rules of tobacco control in Indonesia is still partial, and enforcement is still weak as now, the tobacco farmers and factory workers had already been eliminated.

Tobacco farmers, workers, and home-based tobacco industry excluded because not able to compete with the hegemony of the tobacco industry and multinationals. Middlemen and debt bondage bondage system in tobacco farmers to make them harder to escape poverty.

Tobacco Economics in Indonesia a book written by Sarah Barber and colleagues in 2008 called, the number of farmers and workers in the tobacco industry continues to decline. The number of tobacco farmers, clove farmers, workers and cigarette manufacturing industry 1 million-1, 2 million people. The largest portion is a tobacco farmer, ie 503 000 people.

Conversion plantResearch Triasih Djutaharta of the Demographic Institute Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia (UI FE-LD) and colleagues in 2010 in the article "The Impact of Excise Increase on Income of Tobacco Farmers" (Impact of Cigarette Tax Increase on Tobacco Farmers Income) calls, 36.1 percent tobacco farmer households had incomes less than $ 1 million per month.

Only 39 percent of tobacco farmers grow tobacco only. The rest also grow other more profitable crops, like rice, corn, or other horticultural crops. That is, the conversion of tobacco farmers into other crops farmers are relatively easy to do if the government is serious about tobacco control.

The area planted with tobacco fluctuates. Similarly, the level of production. The low production of tobacco induced tobacco plants vulnerable to changing weather and pest attacks.

At the same time, imports of tobacco from China, India and other countries continues to increase. In 2007, tobacco production 164 851 tonnes, a total of 46 834 tonnes were exported. At the same time imported 69 742 tonnes of tobacco.

"Low income is sensitive to the farmers if there is a policy that will change their income. This makes them easily utilized policy makers and the tobacco industry, "said researcher Centre for Health Economics and Policy, School of Public Health (FKM) Hasbullah Thabrany UI.

The fate of farmers and factory workers were opposed to the cigarette factory owners. Large cigarette factory owners are always on the list of the richest people in Indonesia.

Poor and sicklyThe experience of some countries shows that the signing and ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) does not make the farmers and the tobacco industry cover.Tobacco industry in China, Japan, and India stay afloat despite the strict rules to control the distribution of cigarettes.

The nature of addiction to cigarettes do not make smokers quit smoking even though there are strict rules. Tobacco control rules is not to prohibit smoking, but rather to regulate and limit the adverse effects of smoking is not about those who do not smoke and prevent the increasing number of teenage smokers and women.

LD-FE UI researchers, Abdillah Ahsan, shows, expenditures for poor families in 2009 cigarettes ranks second only to rice.

Purchase cigarettes often takes precedence over nutritious food, like meat, eggs, fruit, as well as education and health care costs. This condition is ironic in the middle of the large number of malnourished children, high dropout rates, and lower healthcare costs.

Lecturer Department of Public Health Nutrition FKM UI, Endang L Achadi, say, the impact of malnutrition among children under five are short, low cognitive ability, and increased risk of diseases such as hypertension and diabetes as adults. Smoking is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Ministry of Health stated, the consumption of cigarettes in 2010 led to spending no need of Rp 231.27 trillion. Details, to buy cigarettes Rp 138 trillion, medical care costs Rp 2.11 trillion and Rp 91.16 trillion in lost productivity.

This expenditure is much greater than the acquisition of state excise and cigarette. If not promptly controlled, the government will guarantee the financing difficulties of the poor health of the Universal Health Insurance (universal coverage) which will take effect in 2014.

source : kompas.com