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The government plans to revise Government Regulation (PP) No. 109/2012 concerning the regulation of tobacco products in the form of cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (HPTL), which includes the e-cigarette industry.

However, associations operating in the e-cigarette/vape industry reject this plan because it could harm the domestic e-cigarette industry. Previously, HPTL itself was not included in PP No. 109/2012 concerning the safety of addictive substances containing tobacco for health.

I Gusti Tisna Wijaya, Head of Investment and Capital Investment for the Indonesian Personal Vaporizer Association (APVI), stated that the government's revision in the Draft Government Regulation (RPP) No. 109/2012 suggests that the e-cigarette industry could harm many parties, both directly and indirectly.

According to Gusti, the e-cigarette industry has successfully attracted foreign investors, which has had a positive impact on employment and contributions to state finances.

"Besides that, the excise contributions from the e-cigarette industry contributed almost Rp200 billion in just the first 4 months of its imposition, from September to December 2018," he said.

He revealed that since its legalization in 2018, the e-cigarette industry has absorbed hundreds of thousands of workers and established more than 10,000 stores/retail outlets throughout Indonesia. Therefore, if the regulations implemented are not appropriate, various problems such as illegal products will emerge.

"Because if the regulations set for this e-cigarette industry are not appropriate, it is feared that an illegal market will emerge in Indonesia," he said.

Gusti added that the articles in the revised Government Regulation (RPP) No. 109/2012 are considered irrelevant. For example, the inclusion of health warning images to 90 percent potentially violates the rights of business actors whose logos and trademarks have been legalized. Then, the inclusion of over 7,000 dangerous chemicals and 69 carcinogenic substances.

"The article is considered irrelevant to the content of e-cigarette products," he concluded.

Garindra Kartasasmita, Secretary General of APVI, said that the regulations created should be adjusted to the level of risk.

"If the government still has doubts about the many studies that have been conducted by other countries, we will gladly assist the government in jointly conducting research and evaluating the risk level of e-cigarette products," said Garindra.

Source: Ekonomi Bisnis