Berly Martawardaya , Jakarta | Fri, 01/30/2009 2:07 PM | Opinion
Walter Lippman in his seminal book, Public Opinion points out the manufacture of consent and its significance to the practice of democracy, because it allows control over public opinion regarding the world and over the public’s interests in that world.
In a religious country like Indonesia, religious authorities still hold sway over public opinion. While far from being the sole manufacturer of consent, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) still holds some sway over the Muslim population and its past record shows positive results, such as the success of a family planning program.
In a special meeting of the MUI in Padangpanjang, West Sumatra, a fatwa (edict) on smoking for pregnant women and children was issued. It is also haram for Muslim men to smoke in public places and smoking in general is considered makruh (blameworthy).
There are some myths, disguised as arguments, put forward against the issuance of a general fatwa on smoking.
Myth 1: Tobacco helps the poor.
The first argument to be employed is usually how the tobacco industry reduces unemployment by absorbing the poor into the tobacco factories and plantations.
Currently, only about 2 percent of Indonesian farmers plant tobacco. There are heavy concentrations of tobacco plantations in certain areas, about 90 percent of them in East Java, Central Java and West Nusa Tenggara. The total area is less than 2 percent of Indonesia’s arable land.
Research by the Demographic Institute (FEUI) show that those farmers earn only about half the minimum wage and that most of them are eager to switch to food crops such as rice or corn.
Tobacco farming is a seasonal job and does not provide full-time work. While the total number of people involved in tobacco farming in Indonesia is estimated at about 1.5 million, the equivalent full-time workers are less than 500,000.
What about workers in the tobacco factories? Most of the 400,000 workers are women with low education and studies show that the majority would gladly move to another sector if the opportunity arises and adequate training to do so is available. The compensation principle could be used by allocating funds from tobacco tax to provide training for tobacco factory workers to switch to other professions.
But the poor also consume tobacco. More than 40 percent of poor households in Indonesia routinely buy tobacco, averaging Rp 113,089 per month in 2005 or the equivalent of 12.43 percent of the total expenditure. It is a higher proportion than expenses for protein, health and education. Equal to more than 20 kilograms of rice or 10 kilograms of eggs per month, a much-needed boost for health and nutrients for the whole family instead of the temporary satisfaction for, as is usually the case, the father.
Seto Mulyadi, chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Committee, has asked the public to protect children from tobacco smoke.
Myth 2: The tobacco industry helps the country
This year, about 5 percent of the government’s domestic income is projected to come from tobacco tax and levies.
After the increase of tobacco tax, the government is targeting Rp 48 trillion in 2009; 10 percent more than this year of Rp 44 trillion. The policy shows that the government understands the principles of tobacco consumption.
As an addictive substance, it has the characteristics of being inelastic to income. A 1 percent increase in price will cut less than 1 percent in consumption. One of the proven laws of economics is how inelastic goods will get higher revenue, including in tax, if the price increases.
A simulation by the FEUI shows that a tariff increase to the maximum rate of 57 percent from sale price (according to Law No 39/2007) will increase government revenue to Rp 50.1 trillion instead of decreasing it.
Indonesia tobacco tax has an average of 37 percent, way below our neighboring countries in ASEAN. A pack of cigarettes in Singapore cost almost five-fold that in Indonesia.
Myth 3: It is a personal choice.
The last bastion of defense for tobacco consumption is the liberty argument. If people choose to smoke than that is their preference and should not be stopped in any way.
But freedom and the capacity to decide must go hand in hand.
About 70 percent of Indonesian smokers start smoking before they are 19 years old. Very few children and teenagers have the capacity to evaluate the health risks of smoking and the highly addictive nature of nicotine.
Cigarette firms spend Rp 2 trillion in advertising, which makes up some 6 percent of total advertising dollars spent. All major tobacco companies in Indonesia sponsor sporting events, youth events, and music concerts. The result is that Indonesian youth are strongly influenced by advertising that associates smoking with success and happiness.
Gary S. Becker, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, and Kevin M. Murphy (1988) published a seminal paper titled A Theory of Rational Addiction. Substance addicts, including tobacco, choose their poison despite knowing that it is habit-forming and dangerous, and they do so because they expect the highs to outweigh the lows. Numerous studies by behavioral economists show that people with low self-control tend to make mistaken estimates on how bad the negative impacts are and how hard it is to quit.
Self-control is also related to education and income. Almost three-quarters of Indonesian males who did not finish elementary school smoke; while men in the lowest income quintile smoke more than those in higher income brackets.
Even if one has the right to poison oneself, there is no such right to distribute the poison – environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) – to other unwilling parties, also known as passive smokers.
The Islamic world seems to agree. Yusuf Qordhawi’s ban on smoking citing the dangers to people’s health should be prioritized over getting income. Ulema councils from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Malaysia have issued the fatwa. Of course, none of them have a tobacco industry.
