Many Indonesians consider cigarette consumption in the country alarming.

According to a survey conducted by the National Committee for Tobacco Control (Komnas PT) and the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) research institute, the majority of Indonesians, or 76.8% of respondents, stated that the level of cigarette consumption in Indonesia is alarming.

The details show that 29% of respondents answered that the situation is very alarming, and another 47.8% answered that it is alarming.

On the other hand, 16.5% of respondents stated that cigarette consumption in Indonesia is not alarming. This percentage comprises 15.6% who felt it was not alarming and 0.9% who stated it was not alarming at all.

Meanwhile, 6.7% of respondents answered "don't know" or did not answer.

According to the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) report released by the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), the number of adult smokers has increased by 8.8 million over the past 10 years, reaching 69.1 million smokers in 2021.

Kemenkes estimates that Indonesian public expenditure on cigarettes in 2021 reached Rp64 billion.

In response, President Joko Widodo has issued a regulation prohibiting the sale of individual cigarettes to curb smoking prevalence among children and adolescents.

This is stipulated in Presidential Decree Number 25 of 2022 concerning the Program for the Preparation of Government Regulations in 2023.

The Komnas PT survey involved 800 respondents aged 17 and above from various regions in Indonesia. The sample was selected using multistage random sampling.

Data was collected from May 2-10, 2023, using face-to-face interviews, with a margin of error of approximately 3.5% and a 95% confidence level.

(Read also: The 35-44 Age Group Smokes the Most in Indonesia)