REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The second-biggest expenditure of poor families in the country is on cigarettes, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). "The information I have indicates that spending on cigarettes is the second-biggest expenditure of poor households. Poor families prefer spending on cigarettes rather than buying nutritious food," the head of state noted at a limited cabinet meeting held to discuss matters relating to tobacco at the Presidential Office here on Tuesday.

During the meeting attended by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Jokowi emphasized that tobacco should be viewed from two aspects. "I want to remind what I had conveyed during a limited cabinet meeting on June 14, 2016, that the tobacco issue should be viewed from two aspects," he remarked.

The first aspect concerns the interests of citizens of the state in the health sector and the second pertains to the need to protect the interests of the successive generations and the future of children. Poor families spend 3.2 folds higher on tobacco as compared to that on eggs and milk. "The amount of money spent is also 4.2 folds higher than that on meat, 4.4 folds more than on education, and 3.3 folds more than on health costs," Jokowi pointed out.

This issue will have an impact on the quality of human resources in future. High consumption of tobacco also leads to steep health costs that have to be borne by the state and people.

Based on data at the Health Social Security Management Agency in 2015, Jokowi stated that more than 50 percent of the health funds were channeled to finance the treatment of non-infectious diseases, one of which is the illness caused by cigarette smoking and exposure to its smoke.

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