The Indonesian government plans to set an upper limit on nicotine and tar in cigarettes by June 2025 and implement it from June 2026 to reduce the smoking rate among teenagers. The supporting measures include prohibiting the sale of individual cigarettes, restricting cigarette sales and advertising around schools. Increasing the proportion of health warnings on packaging and unifying packaging design.
Key points:
1. The Indonesian government plans to determine the maximum content standards of nicotine and tar in cigarettes by June 2025 to support the goal of reducing the smoking rate among teenagers in the National Medium-Term Development Plan for 2025-2029.
2. The goal is to reduce the smoking rate among teenagers aged 10 to 21 to 12.4% by 2025 and continue to decrease by 1% annually. The target for 2029 is 8.4%.
3. Several regulatory measures are being implemented one after another. Including prohibiting the sale of individual cigarettes, restricting cigarette sales around schools, and expanding the scope of packaging warning pictures, etc.
Indonesia to set cigarette nicotine and tar limits effective June 2026
According to Megapolitan. Antara News on April 29th. The Indonesian government is stepping up efforts to promote tobacco control policies, to set national standards for nicotine and tar content in cigarettes by June 2025. In line with the strategic direction of controlling smoking behavior among teenagers in the National Medium-Term Development Plan 2025-2029 (RPJMN).
According to Benget Saragih. The head of the Tobacco Disease Control Working Group (PPAT) of the Ministry of Health of Indonesia. Who disclosed at a media conference in Jakarta. The draft of the work has been basically completed. It is expected to be officially finalized in June 2025 and implemented starting from June 2026.
Bengott pointed out that the primary goal of this policy is to reduce the smoking rate among people aged 10 to 21 to 12.4% by 2025, 11.4% by 2026, and it is expected to drop to 8.4% by 2029. He added that to achieve the goal of a 1% reduction in the national smoking rate, an annual reduction of 2.5% needs to be achieved at the provincial level.
Several regulatory measures are being implemented one after another
To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Health is promoting a series of specific measures:
- Additive ban and punishment for minors smoking: The new regulations will prohibit the use of certain additives in tobacco products, set up relevant penalty provisions for smokers under the age of 21, and strengthen the identity verification mechanism.
- Ban on the sale of single cigarettes: As a survey shows, 71% of minors start smoking by purchasing single cigarettes.
- Restrictions on tobacco products around the school: The sale of cigarettes will be prohibited within 200 meters of the school, and advertisements must not be displayed within 500 meters.
- The expansion of smoke-free zones: Currently, seven “smoke-free zones” have been established, and the regulatory framework has been set up through Articles 442 and 443 of Government Regulation No. 28 (2024), with the supervision and implementation being the responsibility of the Indonesian Food and Drug Administration, the Ministry of Trade, and local governments.
- Strengthened supervision of advertisements and health warnings: The Ministry of Health is promoting the establishment of a dedicated working group to enhance the supervision of tobacco advertisements. In addition, the area of the Health Warning Image (PHW) on the packaging has been increased from the original 40% to 50%. This regulation will also apply to e-cigarette products starting from June 2026.
- Unified packaging standards: In the future, cigarette boxes will have uniform colors, reducing the use of bright packaging to attract younger groups. Basic information such as brand logos and production dates will be retained on the packaging.
- “Smoking Cessation Intervention Service”: The Ministry of Health is also preparing smoking cessation intervention services to provide a more systematic support mechanism.
