Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Indonesia Islamic body to debate ban on smoking
24 Nov 2008 12:37:11 GMT
 Source: Reuters
JAKARTA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia's top Islamic body will debate whether to issue a fatwa banning Muslims from smoking when it holds a national gathering early next year, a senior official said on Monday.

Religious councils in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, had previously agreed to ban smoking by children and in public areas, but have not implemented this and stopped short of a total ban.

"Cigarettes are not forbidden but the impact of smoking that tends to dangerous could lead to them being forbidden," said Ma'ruf Amin, head of the fatwa division of the Indonesian Ulemas Council, known as MUI, after meeting cigarette makers.

He said the council had received requests for a ban that would be discussed at its meeting in January, although ulemas from East Java and North Sumatra were opposed to it.

Amin said care should be taken before issuing a ban because the Koran did not explicitly forbid smoking.

Some cities in Indonesia, including Jakarta, have banned smoking in public places, but the rules are widely flouted.

The $8-billion tobacco industry also plays an important economic role, with tax on cigarettes accounting for about 10 percent of government income in the past, while the sector provides millions of jobs.

Indonesia is the world's fifth-largest tobacco market and cigarettes are among the cheapest in the world, priced at around $1 a pack.

Although smoking has taken a toll on the health of Indonesians, Indonesia has been reluctant to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) aimed at cutting cigarette consumption because of concerns about the impact on the economy.

Separately, Warsono, the director for tobacco and beverage industries at Indonesia's industry ministry, said the government needed to protect health but smoking was a complex issue.

He said even though Indonesia had not signed the FCTC, it had a road map to support the convention and aimed to limit cigarette output to 260 billion sticks by 2020 against 231 billion produced last year.

It could also increase cigarette taxes to 57 percent from around 40 percent now, he said.

(Reporting by Yayat Supriatna; Writing by Telly Nathalia; Editing by Ed Davies) ((ed.davies@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging; ed.davies.reuters.com@reuters.net; tel +6221 384 6364))


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  Planting coconut palms in Indonesia
IFRC - Switzerland

•  The First Asian Grassroots Women's Academy on Resilience
SSP - India

•  World Food Day: Global credit crisis threatens the poorest, says ACT director
ACT - Switzerland

•  World Food Day: CWS urges micronutrients, local agriculture priorities
CWS

•  The American Red Cross and Grameen Foundation Expand Partnership in Indonesia
Red Cross - USA

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Indonesia Islamic body to debate ban on smoking

•  Trees for kids: Indonesia's way of beating global warming

•  Strong quake strikes off Indonesia's Sumatra

•  Strong quake strikes Indonesia's Sumatra - agency

•  Indonesia's Papua plans to tag AIDS sufferers

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Background information

Facts & figures
Indonesia

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Indonesia Islamic body to debate ban on smoking (1 minute ago)

Trees for kids: Indonesia's way of beating global warming (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Aid agency study pinpoints climate change hotspots (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 Planting coconut palms in Indonesia (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Yes, people over 50 have sex too (1 minute ago)

Maps
 MAP: Global Incidence of H5N1 Virus (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-11-19T104218Z_01_JAK05_RTRIDSP_2_INDONESIA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JAK05.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-11-19T102656Z_01_JAK04_RTRIDSP_2_INDONESIA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JAK04.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-11-17T153032Z_01_JAK12_RTRIDSP_2_INDONESIA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JAK12.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-11-17T151922Z_01_JAK11_RTRIDSP_2_INDONESIA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JAK11.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-11-17T151721Z_01_JAK10_RTRIDSP_2_INDONESIA-QUAKE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JAK10.htm

A villager collects goods from his village which is flooded by mud flows from the crater of a mud volcano in Porong, East Java province November 19, 2008. The disaster began ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon Nov 24 12:38:54 2008