Doctor; The Number of Smokers Drops Down If the Price of Cigarettes Rises 3-fold.

Jakarta - Cigarettes are still a problem facing our country. Like a double-edged knife, cigarettes contribute considerable taxes on taxes but also contribute to the number of deadly diseases because of them.

But the Chairman of the Committee for the Control of Cardioserebrovascular Indonesia (PERKI), Dr dr Anwar Santoso, SpJP (K) believes that if the price of cigarettes is raised will have a good impact on public health and also state income.

"There is one study conducted in South Africa and France from 1990-2005, if the price of cigarettes is tripled, then the prevalence of smoking is reduced by half," he said.

"What about the state revenue? It will increase the real government tax to double," continued Dr. Anwar.

In the study, raising the price of cigarettes does not make the country lose money. Tobacco farmers and factory laborers who serve as the reason the government does not raise the price of cigarettes can still continue to work.

In addition, in the study showed that people should stop smoking before entering the age of 40 years.

"So it was decided that best to stop smoking should be done under 40 years, then the relative risk is reduced by 20 percent," said Dr. Anwar*.

Not only active smokers, passive smokers who often exposed to cigarette smoke also have the same risk, ranging from heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other diseases.