Indonesia drafting laws to require plain packaging, health warnings for cigarettes

JAKARTA – The Indonesian government is preparing a regulation for plain packaging for tobacco products and electronic cigarettes, a plan that has been welcomed by health advocacy groups as an attempt to control cigarette consumption but met with opposition from business and consumer associations.

The Health Ministry is drafting a ministerial regulation on health warnings and information displays on conventional and electronic cigarettes. Among provisions in the regulation are requirements for tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging in an effort to reduce their appeal to children and teenagers.

Under the draft, tobacco products would be sold in packages featuring a uniform colour scheme, while brand identities would remain displayed alongside pictorial health warnings.

“Cigarette packaging should not be used as a promotional medium that encourages young people to start smoking,” Health Ministry acting disease control director-general Andi Saguni said in a statement on June 5, while stressing the regulation would not ban the sale of legal tobacco products.

He added that public attention would be more focused on the health messages on the packaging when eye-catching designs are reduced, a method Andi claimed has been proven effective in other countries such as Australia, Canada and Singapore.

Several studies looking at the impact of the policy in Australia, which was first implemented in 2012, found that plain packaging of tobacco products helped reduce the number of smokers by around 108,000.

Researchers also found a drop of teenage smokers aged 12 to 17 to 5 per cent in 2014 from 7 per cent in 2011.

The Center of Indonesia’s Strategic Development Initiatives (CISDI) welcomed the proposal as a step toward curbing tobacco consumption.

The group chair Diah Saminarsih stressed health information about tobacco products should be presented as accurately as possible, rather than distorted by creative branding elements or packaging that could mislead consumers into thinking of lower health risks of the products.

“We must follow World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines that make clear tobacco products have no health benefits, whether they are conventional or electronic, burned or otherwise,” Diah said on June 7.

She also urged the government to push broader tobacco-control measures, including through higher excise taxes, simplification of cigarette tax structure and stronger enforcement on illicit products.

Indonesian Health Policy Forum (RUKKI) chair Mouhamad Bigwanto concurred.

Calling the ministerial regulation a long overdue implementing regulation of a 2024 government regulation on health, he urged Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin to look beyond plain packaging and introduce broader controls, such as restricting additives and banning tobacco promotion on social media.

“The health minister must demonstrate that he prioritises public health interests rather than yielding to industry pressure,” Mouhamad said on June 6.

With around 70 million active smokers as of 2024, Indonesia is often seen as one of the world’s largest tobacco markets.

The ministry’s 2023 Indonesian Health Survey found that 7.4 per cent of those users, around 5 million, were children aged 10 to 18. Under the 2023 Health Law, tobacco products in Indonesia may only be purchased by consumers aged 21 and above.

Anti-tobacco advocates have long called for stricter regulations to address rising youth smoking rates. But businesses and consumer groups have pushed back against the proposal.

The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) warned plain packaging would restrict brand identity and differentiation, which would further limit business opportunities.

“If the regulation is imposed in the near future, businesses could face substantial adjustment costs,” Apindo deputy secretary-general Anggana Bunawan said on June 6, noting companies would need to modify packaging materials and adjust distribution systems.

He called for alternative policies that would not pressure the industry: “Such policies need to strike a balance between public health objectives, business sustainability, fiscal contribution, employment protection and the national economic growth agenda.”

The Indonesian Vape Consumers Association (Akvindo) also called for the ministry to reconsider the policy, with its chair Paido Siahaan arguing it could undermine consumers’ rights to clear and accurate product information.

Asserting that the association supports efforts to communicate health risks and protect children from tobacco exposure, Paido further argued that such objectives should be pursued without creating confusion among adult consumers. THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK