Issue of cigarette smoking must not be left unresolved: Minister

Health Minister Nila Djuwita Moeloek highlighted that the issue of cigarette smoking, notably the steady rise in the number of child smokers, should not be left unresolved.

"We must reveal what is happening in Indonesia," the minister stated while opening the Fourth Indonesia Conference for Tobacco or Health (ICTOH) here on Monday.

Moeloek said the cigarette smoking epidemic in Indonesia has reached an alarming level. More than one-third of the population, or 36.3 percent, are smokers. Some 20 percent are youth in the age group of 13 to 15 years.

The prevalence of adult male smokers in Indonesia is the largest in the world, reaching 68.8 percent. Tobacco intake constitutes one of the key risk factors for non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, lung problem, and damage to blood vessels.

"Most non-infectious diseases are associated with unhealthy lifestyle, such as lack of exercise, low consumption of vegetables and fruits, smoking, and intake of alcohol," she pointed out.

The minister said that the habit of smoking in Indonesia kills 235 thousand people every year and triggers diseases that need expensive treatments.

According to the minister, the high prevalence of smoking among children and youth reduces the quality of the nations succeeding generation that can threaten Indonesias demographic achievement.

The Fourth ICTOH is one of the series of activities organized under the framework of the World No Tobacco Day 2017, which is observed on May 31.

The conference is being organized by the Indonesian Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Indonesian Health Expert Association and Tobacco Control Support Center of IAKMI.(*)

Source: ANTARA