Major Indonesian Tobacco Industry Groups Urge Government to Revise Regulations

According to AntaraNews on May 20th, major stakeholders in Indonesia's tobacco industry: the Indonesian Cigar Association (GAPPRI), the Indonesian Retailers Association (APRINDO), and the Federation of Indonesian Tobacco, Food, Beverage Trade Union (FSP RTMM-SPSI) are collectively urging the government to separate tobacco-related regulations from the health bill. They believe that the current regulations are too strict and have severely damaged the legal tobacco industry in terms of production and profits.

GAPPRI President Henry Najoan stated that due to excessive regulatory pressure, tobacco tax revenue in 2023 was lower than expected, leading to several years of financial difficulty for the tobacco industry. He also criticized the current proposal, stating that it would have a negative impact on the tobacco industry, as excessive bans and restrictions would force GAPPRI members to close down.

Najioan stated that currently, there are at least 446 regulations controlling and restricting the tobacco industry, including 400 control and regulation regulations, accounting for 89.68%; 41 tobacco tax regulations, accounting for 9.19%; and only 5 regulations controlling economic and welfare issues, accounting for 1.12%. They hope to have more detailed divisions in the sales regulations for traditional tobacco and e-cigarettes.

The president of APRINDO, Roy Nicholas Mandey, stated that while they do acknowledge the need for regulating tobacco consumption from a health perspective, bans and restrictions on the sale of tobacco products need to be thoroughly discussed, as these decisions will impact economic benefits and employment resources.

Sudarto, Chairman of FSP RTMM-SPSI, expressed concerns that the restrictions on tobacco products outlined in the health bill could directly impact the tobacco industry production and potentially lead to unemployment among workers in the industry. He stated that currently approximately 142,688 workers are employed in the tobacco sector, and the health bill could potentially result in the circulation of illegal tobacco products, affecting the economic livelihood of these workers.

The government is currently in the process of drafting regulations derived from Law No. 17/2023 related to health, in the form of regulations concerning the protection of the health RPP of addictive substances.