Call for cigarette advert fast

The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has urged television stations to stop airing cigarette advertising during the fasting month of Ramadan, according to a story in the Daily Tempo.

Under current laws, television advertisements for cigarettes can be shown between 21.30 and 05.00, hours: between which hours, it is assumed, children and teenagers do not watch television.

However, YLKI said that during Ramadan many children and adolescents watched television during those hours, especially close to the pre-dawn meal time.

‘And during those hours, cigarette advertisements are allowed to be aired,’ said YLKI chairman Tulus Abadi in a written statement on Sunday.

YLKI said also that religious events on television should not to be sponsored by tobacco companies, either directly or covertly.