REPUBLIKA.CO.ID,  JAKARTA - Indonesia is one of the countries prone to tuberculosis (TB) as 28 percent of its population are smokers. Smoking cigarette is believed to increase the risk of TB.

Ministry of Health states that Indonesia sits on the third biggest smokers in the world with nearly 65 million people, about 1:4, smoke cigarette. The number of women and teenagers who smoke is also increasing from year to year in line with the rising production of cigarette in Indonesia.

Cigarettes are the second-largest household expenditure after rice with the percentage of 19.3 percent for rice and 12.4 percent for cigarettes. A data in Health Development and Research shows that both active and passive smokers are prone to TB third times higher than non-smokers.

Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior Affairs has regulated that setting up "Area Without Cigarette" is a must to prevent TB. In 2011, about 23 cities have implemented the regulation. The figure rises to 57 cities in 2012.

"We believe if we can control smoking and TB then we can save many lives," Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Health at the Ministry of Health, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said.

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