A student rally against smoking in Surabaya, East Java, on May 29, 2023 to commemorate World No Tobacco Day. (Photo: antaranews.com) Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Health Ministry's transformation communication staff member NgabilaSalama on October 16 stated that cigarettes are the rootof various problems that are multidimensional in nature in the country and alsothe world.
Salama stressed that cigarettes are the cause of multidimensionalproblems at the global level, not only in the health sector but also bring anegative impact on socio-economy and culture.
According to Salama, ample research has shownthe negative impact of cigarettes on health issues, including physical andmental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Apart from the healthsector, smoking also causes economic problems.
Studies from the research also showed that cigarettes are thesecond most common product consumed by poor families, Salama added.
Another research states that by reducing cigarette spendingby 1%, poverty will also be reduced by 6%.
In addition, Salama highlighted that smoking isone of the causes of stunting in children and also resulted in motoric,developmental, and mental disorders.
She cautioned that mental disorders in childrencan also disrupt their concentration and cause a decline in their performancein school.
This was caused by around seven thousand dangerous substancescontained in cigarettes, especially nicotine, which causes addiction; tar thattriggers cancer in the body; and carbon monoxide that impedes the blood'sability to carry oxygen to body tissues and key organs, she explained.
Hence, Salama urged the public to stop and avoid smoking.
She drew attention to some efforts made to reduce the numberof smokers by increasing cigarette excise prices and limiting cigaretteadvertising. For this reason, she proposed to relevant stakeholders to tightenregulations regarding cigarette advertising.
In 2022, Indonesia ranked first in the world interms of the prevalence of adult male smokers, which was recorded at 71.3%. Meanwhile,the prevalence of adult smokers in Indonesia stood at 37.6%, was the fifthhighest in the world./.
