RATIFICATION OF FCTC MAY RAISE INDONESIA'S BARGAINING POWER

Jakarta, Nov 7 (ANTARA) - The government has been asked for an early ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to raise Indonesia's bargaining power in the health sector.

"Indonesia has no reason to ratifiy the FCTC, because tobacco is already covered by the Law on Health," former Health Minister Farid Anfasa Moeloek said in Jakarta Monday.

Farid said that Indonesia's delay in ratifiying the FCTC, is not only allowing its population to become poinsoned by cigarette smoke, but also weakened Indonesia in health negotiations with donor institutions.

The FCTC was supposed to protect future generations from the dangers of tobaco to health, by reducing smoking habits and gradually reducing tobaco production.

A total of 168 countries had ratified the FCTC, and Indonesia was still the only country in the Asia and Pacific region still reluctant to sign the program.

"I still do not undestand by the government and the House of Representatives had not rafified it, whereas Indonesia was one of the countries with the biggest contribution to designing the FCTC.

He suspected that the Indonesian government lacked the political will to safe and protect its people from the threat of death caused by smoking.

Consequently, negotiations on health matters with donor institutions will not only center around financial assistance but also on technical aid, which is very difficult to get.

Farid, who was once general chairman of the Association of Indonesian Doctors (IDI) also predicted that unless the consequences of smoking is controlled properly, it is quite possible that Indonesia would loose one generation.

In the meantime, chairman of the NGO engaged in overcoming the threat of smoking Fuad Baradja said the government is already trapped in its economic dependence on tobacco excise earnings.

"The government only wishes tobacco excise income for the State Budget, not realizing that behind the excise income looms a deadly impact from smoking," he said.

The Law on Health clearly stipulated that the addictive substances include tobacco, addictive tobacco-based products, solid, liquid, and gas the uses of which could cause a loss to the smokers themselves as well as to their environment.

He also urged that the Draft Law on Control of Tobacco Products which lack progress in the last period of the House of Representatives could be finallized in the 2009-2014 period.

"Otherwise, Indonesia would become a haven for imported tobacco products, which will destroy the future of Indonesian children and young people" he added.

In the meantime, researcher of the Demographical Institute of the economic facullty of the University of Indonesia Abdillah Ahsan believed that one effective way to reduce smoking habits would be raining the prices of cigarette excise.

In this context, the government in 2010 will raise cigarette excise by an average of 15 percent, with the maximum to Rp 325 per cigarette.

He felt that the price of cigarettes needs to be higher than the inflation rate, so that people will have difficulties in buying cigtarettes, especially the youths.

In 2010, the income for the State Budget from cigarette excise reached Rp55.9 trillion, which is an increase from Rp54.4 in 2009, and from the Rp 49 triliun in 2008.

"In the meantime the foreign exchange earnings from cigarette exports in the last five years had increased by an average of 24 percent from 157.61 million in 2004 to Rp 359.68 million in 2008.