Jakarta – The National Movement to Prevent Smoking Problems has asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop the expansion of cigarette companies in the country.

The organization, consisting of 21 NGOs and professional organizations, criticized the government's issuance of a permit to the country's largest cigarette company, PT HM Sampoerna, to build a new factory in Karawang regency, West Java.

"The new factory is able to produce nine billion cigarettes per year. This will be an insidious danger for the youth and poor people because it will increase cigarettes' availability in the country," said Farid Anfasa Moeloek, chairman of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), which is part of the National Movement to Prevent Smoking Problems.

He said about Rp 50 billion (US$5.5 million) in cash aid that the government provided annually to low-income citizens would only be wasted on cigarettes.

Widyastuti Soerojo of the Anti-Smoking Foundation said any benefits from the new factory, expected to employ about 12,000 people, would ultimately be meaningless since millions of people could potentially die from increased smoking.