Tobacco industry
Currently, the focus of the new normal is to restore public protection from the side of public health by not clashing people’s interests with harmful industries.
The National Commission on Tobacco Control assesses many tactics used by the cigarette industry to attract young people into starting smoking and become addicted.
For example, make advertisements in the style of cool young people, place advertisements around schools, and make the price per stick promotions in their advertisements.
“Through programs such as CSR which are very incessant, the cigarette industry legitimizes itself with policymakers and the public to counter the negative attention surrounding its deadly products, and to build a good image among policymakers and society,” stated the National Commission on Tobacco Control.
From the Tobacco Industry Interference Index published by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, it appears that the intervention by the tobacco industry in the Philippines and Indonesia is very high and has always been the highest in ASEAN since 2014.
“In their findings, the tobacco industry is using various tactics such as bringing the industry closer to the government, joining in government programs such as CSR, positioning former government officials as company commissioners, and various other tactics on a massive and open basis, which in turn affect the policies that govern cigarette industry,” he explained.
The National Commission for Tobacco Control said that until now, tobacco control regulations are still very weak.
This ultimately has an impact on the high number of smokers, including child smokers.
“This then triggers various problems in ASEAN, such as the high number of non-communicable diseases which then has an impact on the deficit of Public Health Costs, the difficulty of poverty alleviation programs, the high prevalence of stunting, and an impact on macroeconomic losses.”
(https: // mediaindonesia, accessed in 2019)
In ASEAN, there are an estimated 122 million smokers, which continues to increase among young smokers.
This number exceeds 10 percent of the WHO version of world smokers in 2015, which reached more than 1.1 billion smokers.
Each year, it is estimated that there are 5.6 trillion cigarettes sold.
This is the same as each person spends an average of 5,000 cigarettes per year or 13 cigarettes per day, the equivalent of more than one pack per day.
The number is contested by the top 10 global cigarette industry players.
Statistics notes that China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC) still holds the largest market share, which is up to 42 percent. Meanwhile, Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) hold a market share of 14 percent and 10 percent. Gudang Garam, which originates from Indonesia, is plastered with a 1.2 percent market share in the global cigarette industry.