Raise tobacco taxes and prices for a healthy and prosperous Indonesia

Overview

During 2020–2024, the government of Indonesia is focused on improving the wellbeing of Indonesians by taking advantage of the demographic dividend for allinclusive economic growth. And, recognizing the critical dual causality concept, human capital development has been declared a top priority for the government – specifically, improving the health of citizens to impact on productivity and growth.

Indonesia’s health profile indicates a high and increasing disease burden from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes being prominent among the top 10 causes of long-term illnesses and early deaths. Three risk factors account for most  of the disease burden: dietary risks, high blood pressure and tobacco use.  Tobacco consumption is a critical public health challenge for the country.

Indonesia has one of the highest prevalence of smoking in the world, with 62.9% of adult males smoking. Tobacco use kills about 225 700 Indonesians every year. Further, contrary to global trends, tobacco use continues to be high and even on the rise among young people and deprives the country of 6 million disability-adjusted years of life annually