Slamet Susanto and Tarko Sudiarno, Yogyakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on the nation to avoid drugs, free sex and smoking as part of a healthy lifestyle campaign he launched on Friday.
"Let's make a healthy life part of our lifestyle," the President said at the commemoration of National Health Day held at the Prambanan Hindu temple complex east of Yogyakarta.
"A healthy life can be achieved through regular exercise, good nutrition, breast feeding for infants, the use of clean water, good sanitation, and by staying away from narcotics, free sex and smoking," Susilo said.
While underscoring the danger of smoking to health, the President looked around and asked if there were any cigarette producers in the audience.
"Are there any representatives of Gudang Garam, Djarum and Sampoerna with us here?" Susilo, who is a non-smoker, asked, to the laughter of the audience, referring to the country's major cigarette makers.
In the front row of the audience was Yogyakarta's Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, whose family runs a cigarette company. Its product, Kraton Dalem brand, is sold around Yogyakarta and Central Java.
Among the audience were regents and mayors who have won government awards for their efforts in promoting health and improving health care for their people.
Excise collected from cigarette companies contributes around Rp 25 trillion (US$2.7 billion) to state revenues annually.
National Health Day falls on November 12, but this year's commemoration took place on Friday due to the President's busy schedule that included overseas trips to Santiago and Vientiane to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Association of Southeast Asia Nations summits.
In his speech, Susilo also promised to build more health centers in remote and poor areas to make health care more accessible to the needy. The government, he said, would provide people in outlying regions with more medical workers and cheap, quality medicines. "In the long run, when our economy has grown to a higher level, everybody will enjoy free health care," the President said.
The commemoration was marked by the launch of the Combo DTP-Hepatitis B vaccine.
Earlier, Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari presented Ksatria Bakti Husada awards to 40 regency and municipal administrations, and Manggala Karya Bakti awards to regents and mayors for improving the quality of health for people within their jurisdictions.
National Health Day originated from the national campaign against malaria launched by founding president Sukarno back in 1959.