| Summary: | Introduction
Over the years the industry also has been known to use its influence and financial power to
undermine and thwart effective public health policies on tobacco control in various countries
for business gain 1, 2 . This effort can be done either directly or indirectly through third parties who have the same interests in the business, including in Indonesia 3 . This study aims to determine the 2021 Tobacco Industry Interference (TII) index score for Indonesia and explain how the tobacco industry interfered with tobacco control policies and takes advantage of the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia.
Material and Methods
To identify the interference, we used data from a media monitoring report provided by media
agency eBdesk from January 1st 2020 to March 31st 2021. All quotes were recorded and
grouped into 20 questions under 7 indicators; 1) Level of Industry Participation in Policy
Development, 2) Tobacco-Related Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities, 3)
Benefits to the Tobacco Industry, 4) Forms of Unnecessary Interaction, 5) Transparency, 6)
Conflict of Interest, and 7) Preventive Measures. The score depends on the number of
incidents and/or level of strength. The maximum score for each question is 5 and the final
score ranges from 20-100. The higher the score, the greater the influence of the tobacco
industry.
Results
Indonesia’s score for the 2021 TII index is 84. Tobacco industry interference in public policy
continues as Indonesia still has no legal mechanism or effective framework to control the
tobacco industry’s participation in policy development. Tobacco industry-sponsored CSR
activities escalated in 2020 compared to previous years. The tobacco industry took the
advantage of the COVID-19 crisis by contributing a varied number of donations for pandemic
responses. During this period the tobacco industry received special incentives of tax relaxation
from the Ministry of Finance. There were several meetings and engagements between the
tobacco industry and the Indonesian government during this period.
Conclusions
There were preferential treatments given to the tobacco industry during the COVID-19
pandemic. The tobacco industry is still considered a stakeholder and a normal business. The government must adopt a code of conduct that regulates interactions with the tobacco industry and its front group.
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