The Health Ministry officially

The Health Ministry officially launched a new public service announcement video on the dangers of secondhand smoke in coordination with the World Lung Foundation. The video is a response to the high number of passive smokers in Indonesia.

“The number of smokers in Indonesia has now reached 53.7 million people. We are trying to make a campaign to raise public awareness on the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke,” said the ministry’s secretary-general, Untung Suseno Sutarjo, in a press conference on Friday.

The 30-second public service announcement showed a woman suffering from cancer identified as Ike Wijayanti, 37, who contracted the disease after a decade of secondhand smoke exposure in her former workplace.

Beras Mentah

She spoke with difficulty in front of the camera, urging the public not to smoke.

The video began airing on May 17 on television and radio stations, as well as on the video sharing website,Youtube.

“We should have made 20 to 30 more of these. The airing of one public announcement might not mean much,” Untung said.

Data from the 2010 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) showed that 95 million people in Indonesia had been exposed to secondhand smoke, with 40.3 million people under 14 years old among them.

Data from the Health Ministry also stated that exposure to secondhand smoke increased the risk of contracting lung cancer by 30 percent and coronary heart disease by 25 percent.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, smoke-free policies have not yet been imposed in government facilities, indoor offices, restaurants, bars or other indoor places. They have, however, been applied to public transportation, health facilities and education facilities, although many still criticize the lack of enforcement. (fsu) (++++)

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