REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The prevalence of smoking in Indonesia is forecast to increase further, with an increase of only 10.04 percent in the tobacco excise tax in 2018, Chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YKLI) stated.

"Poor families and juveniles can still afford to buy cigarettes. An increase of 10.04 percent (in the excise tax) will only raise the price by Rp30 to Rp50 per cigarette," Tulus Abadi said here, Thursday.

According to Abadi, a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that poor families had spent more money on cigarettes than on education and healthy food.

Cigarettes ranked second after rice on the list of items bought by most poor families.

"The Finance Ministry has failed to understand the excise tax, as an instrument to control tobacco consumption in accordance with Law No. 39 of 2007 on excise tax," he remarked.

He suspected that the government had largely prioritized the cigarette industry's interests while ignoring the public's demand for tighter control on tobacco consumption.

The government has planned to increase the tobacco excise tax by 10.04 percent, on an average, to come into effect since January 1, 2018.

The decision was made during a closed-door meeting led by President Joko Widodo last week.

The World Bank, in its report on tobacco tax reform, said the finance minister in a country can save more lives than a health minister by increasing the tobacco excise tax.

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