On August 14, according to foreign reports, the Indonesian government is planning to tighten relatively loose smoking regulations to curb the increase in the number of children smoking in the country.

Under a planned new regulation, Indonesia's health ministry is seeking to control the promotion and packaging of e-cigarettes, which have been unregulated since legalization in 2018. The ministry also seeks to increase the size of graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging from 40 to 90 percent, ban the advertising, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products, and ban the sale of single cigarettes.

Imran Agus Nurali, director of health promotion and community empowerment at the ministry, said in a webinar on August 11 that the number of underage smokers continues to increase every year, especially since the legalization of e-cigarettes.

He stressed the need for stronger measures to reduce tobacco consumption to protect future generations from the effects of smoking.

Banning the advertising, sponsorship and promotion of tobacco products is also critical, as around 65 percent of Indonesian children are exposed to tobacco advertising through television, point-of-sale advertising and billboards, he added, according to the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey.

Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that still allows cigarette advertising on television and print media.

In addition to amending existing tobacco regulations, the government plans to further increase excise duties on cigarettes next year.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Finance raised tobacco excise taxes by 12 percent, leading to an average 35 percent increase in cigarette prices.

Tobacco kills around 290,000 people in the country each year, according to the Ministry of Health.