Indonesia to add photo warnings to cigarette packs

Indonesia’s president has signed off on regulations that will require cigarette packets to bear photographic warnings and ban the use of terms such as “mild” and “light” in connection with tobacco products.

Tobacco farmer groups and tobacco companies have opposed the regulations in a country with one of the highest rates of smoking the world.

The regulations posted on a government website late on Wednesday continue to allow most forms of advertising and fall far short of those in many Western countries and Asian markets.

Tobacco companies will have 18 months to implement them.