Cheers as Indonesia Gets Serious on Smoking
Anti-smoking activists on Wednesday welcomed the government’s plan to ratify a World Health Organization treaty on tobacco control.
“It is urgent for Indonesia to ratify the convention,” said Tulus Abadi, chairman of the Indonesian Consumers’ Foundation (YLKI) and chief advocate at the National Commission for Tobacco Control.
Indonesia is one of only four countries that have yet to ratify the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which entered into force in February 2005. FCTC requires its 152 ratifying nations to implement effective methods to reduce tobacco use.
Budi Sampoerna, the head of the Health Ministry’s legal division, was quoted by Antara as saying on Tuesday that the FCTC Ratification Bill was being discussed by relevant departments.
