indonesia may ban cigarette ads from tv and radio

Commission I of Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) plans to revise Law No. 32/2002 on Broadcasting by adding a full ban on the advertisement of tobacco-related products on television and radio. Indonesia's tobacco industry, a massive industry in Southeast Asia's largest economy, objects to this plan. This ban would also have a big affect on government revenue (excise duties on cigarettes are a key source of government revenue) as well as on revenue generated by media institution because tobacco companies are the fifth-largest advertiser in Indonesia.

Based on data from research firm AdsTensity, Indonesia's tobacco industry spent a total of IDR 6.3 trillion (approx. USD $474 million) on television advertisement in 2016; the biggest spenders in this industry being Djarum (IDR 1.91 trillion), Gudang Garam (IDR 1.32 trillion), and HM Sampoerna (IDR 1.25 trillion).

Elvira Lianita, Head of Fiscal Affairs and Communication at HM Sampoerna, said the government needs to re-think whether a full ban would be appropriate as there already exists Law No. 109/2012 that limits tobacco-related adds in Indonesian media (there is a limit to the timing and content of the add, for example the cigarette itself is not allowed to be visible anymore). Lianita added that it would have far-reaching effects if the government bans tobacco-related adds on television and radio because not only earnings of the tobacco industry are to decline but also government revenue, revenue of media institutions, and the welfare of many small Indonesian tobacco farmers as well as workers in the country's cigarette plants.