Bali is being praised by anti-smoking activists for refusing to host a tobacco industry forum.
Inter-Tabac Asia, the largest trade fair held by the global tobacco industry, was due to take place in Bali from February 27-28.
Strong opposition by public health professionals in Indonesia persuaded the Bali administration to tell the event’s organiser to take his show elsewhere.
Bali has already rejected the World Tobacco Asia conference, slated to be held in Nusa Dua in September this year, which was finally diverted to Jakarta.’¨
“The Bali governor has put his people’s interests above others,” Bungon Ritthiphakdee, director of the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, told the Jakarta Post.
Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, is a key market for the global tobacco industry.
A third of all Indonesians smoke.
Anti-smoking groups say 20% of kids in Indonesia aged 13 to 15 smoke. And 225,000 Indonesians die every year from smoking-related illnesses.
