Polemic About Smoking and Alternative-Solutive Products for Indonesians

News24xx.com -  Do you smoke?

For the people of Indonesia, smoking is not just an activity of smoking a cigarette, but more than that. Consider the cigarette polemic in the opinion of Sumanto Al Qurtuby.

Since the last few years a number of cigarette companies have issued "alternative cigarettes" products to respond to the "demands" of the government and society for "conventional cigarettes" products that are considered unhealthy or harmful to the body on the one hand and not environmentally friendly on the other.

One of the strongest criticisms, especially from anti-smoking groups both from the general public and the "regime" of health, political regimes, and religious regimes, for "conventional cigarettes" products (such as clove cigarettes or filter cigarettes / cork) because these types of cigarettes are seen as having an impact bad or negative for body health.

This is because, according to them, conventional cigarettes allegedly can cause a number of diseases such as lung, cancer, and heart and are thought to cause impotence and infertility.

For years, people have been "fed" by information and the threat of smoking. On this basis, or perhaps "pressure" and "bribes" from a number of parties (especially the tobacco and tobacco industry), the governments in various countries, including Indonesia, make a number of regulations that regulate smoking and smoking, including the making of no-smoking area rules or the provision of special places for smoking.

The government also aggressively campaigned in various media about the dangers of smoking.

Interestingly, even though cigarettes are considered or perceived as a dangerous commodity, the government has enjoyed very large cigarette excise taxes.

According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in 2016, cigarettes have contributed 146 trillion to the state, and it is estimated that cigarette taxes continue to increase every year.

So, although cigarettes and tobacco are always considered "stepchildren" who are discriminated against compared to other commodities, the government has for years used cigarette funds for national development programs whose results are of course enjoyed by all levels of society, both pro and anti-smoking.