The Indonesian government, as part of the fight against smoking, has raised the age , on which the country can buy tobacco products, up to the age of 21, reports the Reuters agency.
Until now, buying cigarettes in the country was allowed at the age of 18.
The cabinet resolution, signed by President Joko Widodo, bans the sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 21 and their sale within 200 meters of schools and sports facilities. The sale of regular cigarettes and vapes on electronic applications and social networking sites, as well as any advertising of tobacco products, is also prohibited.
„These measures should help reduce tobacco consumption in the country and make it more difficult to start smoking at an early age,” said the government decree.
According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, in Indonesia, which has a population of 270 million people, the number of smokers is 70 million. According to this indicator, the country is in one of the first places in the world. A survey last year showed that young Indonesians aged 10-18 make up 7.4% of smokers in the country.