Indonesia

Indonesia is not a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Smoke Free Places

Smoking is prohibited on public transport and in the following public places: healthcare facilities, educational facilities, and places of worship. In other types of public places and in workplaces, designated smoking areas must be provided. With respect to outdoor places, children’s playgrounds must be smoke free. The realization of smoke free places and smoking-restricted places, however, requires passage of laws by local governments. The national law does not set a deadline by which local governments must act, so some local governments have passed smoke free legislation while others have not. Sub-national jurisdictions may enact smoke free laws that are more stringent than the national law.

Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship

Tobacco advertising and promotion is allowed with certain restrictions. Tobacco advertising on TV and radio may take place between the hours of 21:30 and 05:00 local time. All advertisements however may not show, among other things, cigarettes, the shape of cigarettes, tobacco product branding, or smoking. There are further restrictions on print and outdoor advertising. The law additionally prohibits the distribution of free and discounted tobacco products, tobacco products as prizes, and the brand stretching of tobacco products. There are some restrictions on tobacco sponsorship and the publicity of such sponsorship.

Tobacco Packaging and Labeling

Pictorial health warnings are required to cover 40 percent of the main display areas parallel to the top edge of the packaging for most smoked and smokeless tobacco products. There are five different health warnings that must appear concurrently and be distributed equally across each tobacco product variation. Misleading terms such as “light” and “low tar" are prohibited on tobacco packaging, but other misleading packaging (e.g., colors, numbers and symbols) is not prohibited. This prohibition, however, does not apply to tobacco products that already had these misleading words in their branding or trademarks. 

Cigarette Contents and Disclosures

Although Regulation (PP) No. 109 of 2012 prohibits the use of additives in tobacco products “unless it has been scientifically proven that such additives are not harmful to health,” no ministerial regulation has been issued to date and additives are allowed in practice. The law requires that manufacturers and importers disclose to government authorities information on the emissions of their products, but does not require disclosure of information on the contents.

Sales Restrictions

The law prohibits the sale of tobacco products via vending machines and in educational facilities, children’s playgrounds, and healthcare facilities, as well as the sale of small packets of cigarettes. There are no restrictions on internet sales or the sale of single cigarettes. The sale of tobacco products is prohibited to persons under the age of 18.

E-Cigarettes

There is no national law restricting the sale; use; advertising, promotion and sponsorship; or packaging and labeling of e-cigarettes. Some sub-national jurisdictions have enacted laws restricting the use of e-cigarettes where smoking is prohibited and e-cigarette advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Roadmap to Tobacco Control Legislation

Law No. 36 of 2009 Concerning Health authorizes the Ministry of Health to regulate advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, smoke free places, and packaging and labeling of smoked tobacco products. Government Regulation (PP) No. 109 of 2012 was issued under the 2009 Health Law and is the primary governing regulation on tobacco control.  Some provisions entered into force immediately; provisions governing tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship entered into force in December 2013, and provisions governing health warnings on packaging and labeling entered into force in June 2014.

Ministry of Health Regulation No. 28 of 2013 provides details for the implementation of the pictorial health warnings. Ministry of Health Regulation No. 56 of 2017 amends some of the provisions in Regulation No. 28 of 2013 and establishes a new set of five pictorial health warnings that are required on all packaging as of January 11, 2019.

The 2009 Health Law amended Law No. 23 of 1992 Concerning Health, under which Government Regulations (PP) No. 81 of 1999, No. 38 of 2000, and No. 19 of 2003 were issued.  Provisions of the previous government regulations that do not conflict with the provisions of PP No. 109 of 2012 remain valid.  National laws and regulations addressing smoking restrictions must be implemented through local laws and regulations to be effective. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Home Affairs issued the Joint Regulation Concerning Guidelines for the Implementation of No Smoking Areas to provide guidance to local governments on the law that local governments must enact to implement smoke free areas.

Advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products is also regulated by three additional laws: Law No. 32 of 2002 Concerning Broadcasting, Law No. 40 of 1999 Concerning Press, and Law No. 33 of 2009 Concerning Film.

Review Status

This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers or tobacco control experts.