Letter from young people hoping for a good legacy from Jokowi

IYCTC DOCUMENTATION

Young members of the Indonesian Youth Council for Tactical Change (IYCTC) conduct anti-smoking campaigns on motor vehicle-free days or car free day in Dukuh Atas, Jakarta, Sunday (06/02/2024).

Young people's awareness of health and environmental improvement is slowly increasing. They did not stop at small actions, but also defended the community's right to a healthy environment by sending a letter of encouragement to President Joko Widodo.

They submitted the letter to President Jokowi through the Ministry of State Secretariat in Jakarta, Friday (5/7/2024). The letter urges Jokowi to expedite the ratification of the draft government regulation (RPP) as a derivative of Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning health.

This law requires the government to create and enact derivative regulations in the form of a PP no later than one year after the law is passed, which will fall on August 8, 2024. The ratification of the Health RPP is also the last moment for President Joko Widodo to provide a legacy of power that protects the community.

Joko Widodo, as an executive leader, cannot be considered to have left a good legacy to the Indonesian people if he does not ratify this RPP on health, said Manik Marganamahendra, general chairman of the Indonesian Youth Council for Tactical Changes (IYCTC) in Jakarta on Friday (07/05/2024).

In addition to IYCTC, the letter was also signed by 16 other youth organizations. They are Bumi Collaboration, Joint Synergy to Reduction Cigarette Smoke in Kulon Progo (Semar-KU), Health Promotion Community, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia, We Love Youth (Kisara) PKBI-Bali, Toco Rangers, Nahdlatul Ulama Women's Student. (IPPNU) and the Indonesian Association of Public Health Student Senate.

In addition, Ruandu Foundation, Indonesian Medical Students' Senate Association, Indonesian Midwifery Students' Association, Indonesian Trash Rangers, Indonesian Youth Rangers, Bogor City Children's Forum, Student Executive Council of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Jambi, Siliwangi University Public Health Students' Association and Hasanuddin Contact.

If these behaviors and policies are not improved, the hospital will still not be able to afford them. This requires courage on the part of politicians and legislators.

These organizations believe that the presence of PP will be essential for the development of public health and protection, particularly in the face of the current epidemic, namely the tobacco epidemic.

Data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2021 show that male smoking prevalence in Indonesia ranks first in the world at 65.5 percent. Although this figure has declined, in absolute terms, the number of smokers increased from 60.3 million in 2011 to 69.1 million in 2021.

Apart from this, up to 19.2 percent of students aged 13 to 15 currently smoke. This situation is then exacerbated by the prevalence of e-cigarette users, which has actually increased 10-fold in a decade.

“We are concerned that Indonesia's demographic bonus in 2045 will not be optimal due to the increase in cigarette consumption in general and among children,” said Daniel Beltsazar, project and research manager at IYCTC.

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The problem of smoking can spread to socio-economic problems. Parents who smoke often prioritize buying cigarettes over nutritious food for their children. Then a problem arose growth retardation or tengkes which occurs more often in family members who smoke. Not to mention the problem of cigarette butts polluting the environment.

Nina Samidi, program manager of the National Tobacco Control Committee, added that for the past 10 years, the community has not received protection from the government against the intervention of the cigarette industry. The Tobacco Control Network urges the government to immediately revise PP 109 of 2017, but so far it makes no sense to the government. Until finally there is a Health RPP derived from Health Law No. 17/2023, but even this had not been signed by the government.

This is reflected in the Tobacco Industry Interference Index (TII) in 2023, which increased from the previous year to 84 points. This places Indonesia first among nine other Southeast Asian countries according to the TII index in the past five years.

Also read: Minister of Health: smoking is not a way of life

Previously, in 2015, Indonesia's TII index was also 84, then fell to 79 in 2017, but rose to 82 in 2019 and 83 points in 2020. This shows that the interaction between government officials and the tobacco industry is getting closer and could lead to a conflict of interest due to the lack of transparency. In this way, efforts to reduce the number of smokers in Indonesia will be difficult to achieve.

We urge the government to answer the question: where is it now? We question the government's commitment to protecting our public health because the cigarette industry is so heavily involved in government. “So far, the government is dying under the cigarette industry,” Nina said.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Tobacco Disease Control Task Force of the Ministry of Health, Benget Saragih, admitted that controlling tobacco products in Indonesia is quite complicated because it really depends on political policy. In fact, the effects of smoking are taking a heavy toll on the national health system.

This is a burden on the state even though there are many hospitals with full equipment and health personnel. If these behaviors and policies are not improved, the hospital will still not have the means. This requires courage from politicians and DPR members (DPR), said Benget (CompassMay 17, 2024).