The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) has officially expressed objections to the plan to standardize cigarette packaging designs as outlined in the draft Regulation of the Minister of Health (Permenkes), which serves as a derivative regulation of Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024. Kemenperin urged that the clause regarding packaging standardization be immediately removed from the draft regulation currently being formulated.
The Director of Beverage, Tobacco Products, and Refreshment Crops Industry at Kemenperin, Merrijantij Punguan Pintaria, emphasized that packaging standardization is deemed irrelevant within the scope of the Permenkes. According to her, the government should focus this derivative regulation on the technical aspects of health warnings, such as determining the design, size, and proportion of images, which will be increased to cover 50 percent of the packaging surface.
Kemenperin made a special note regarding the urgency of legal certainty for business actors, given that Government Regulation (PP) Number 28 of 2024 is scheduled to take effect on July 26, 2026. Delays in issuing clear technical regulations are feared to trigger business climate uncertainty, which could ultimately disrupt the sustainability of the national tobacco industry.
In addition to the packaging issue, Kemenperin also highlighted the proposed restrictions on nicotine and tar levels. The ministry suggested that the determination of maximum limits be carried out comprehensively by considering existing Indonesian National Standards (SNI), as well as through coordination under the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs (Kemenko PMK). Given that the target of 1 milligram of nicotine and 10 milligrams of tar requires a long transition period, the government is requested to consider its impact on labor absorption.
Opposition to this regulation has come not only from the central government but also from regional governments. The Regent of Temanggung, Agus Setyawan, stated that limiting nicotine levels and standardizing packaging risk disrupting the industry supply chain, leading to a decline in tobacco crop absorption from farmers. The Temanggung Regency Government has sent an aspiration letter to the relevant ministry as a form of protection for the local agricultural sector.
