Effectiveness of Social Aid Constrained

KOMPAS/ERIKA KURNIA

Researchers and guests attend an event held to announce the results of a study titled Social Aid, Cigarette Consumption, and Household Socio-Economic Indicators in Indonesia in Jakarta, Tuesday (2/7/2019). The research was conducted by the Center for Social Security Studies, School of the Strategic and Global Studies, University of Indonesia, to determine the correlation between improved welfare through social assistance and smoking.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Increasing social assistance to low-income families has been found to increase their cigarette consumption. This may reduce the effectiveness of the social assistance program, which is intended to improve the quality of human life.

The latest study conducted by the social security study center (PKJS) of the University of Indonesia (UI), in collaboration with the national tobacco control commission, found an increase in the number of smokers and cigarette consumption in 30 percent of the lowest-income people.

"We found that the prevalence of smokers in that group increased dramatically, around 1.5 percentage points a year. They are part of the 40 percent lowest-income group, who are entitled to social assistance, "said Teguh Dartanto, a researcher who is also the head of the Department of Economics of the School of Economics and Business at UI, on Tuesday.

The study was conducted by analyzing the results of a 2016 and 2017 national socio-economic survey (Susenas), which recorded data on about 300,000 households, as well as the results of the fourth and fifth edition of the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) data, which had about 15,000 households as respondents.

Teguh explained that families of social assistance recipients (bansos) who have members who smoke have a lower consumption of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates as compared to those of recipients whose family members don’t smoke.

KOMPAS/ERIKA KURNIA

The results of PKJS UI 2019 research on the correlation between social assistance and smoking based on the 2016 and 2017 Susenas (national social-economic census) data analysis and the Indonesia Family Life Survey in Jakarta, Tuesday (2/7/2019).

Children under 15 of the social assistance recipients have lower educational attainment and worse health conditions than those of families that do not have smokers.

"The highest correlation was found in the recipients of the Hope Family Program [PKH]. PKH, which was previously distributed in cash, increased household income directly so that the households can use it to buy cigarettes," Teguh said.

The results of the study also showed that PKH family recipients had cigarette expenditures of Rp 3,660 per capita per week or 3.5 cigarettes per capita per week, higher than non-recipients of the social assistance program.

The manager of the tobacco control program, Renny Nurhasana, said he hoped that the findings of the study could be used as a reference for policy makers to consider the importance of controlling cigarette consumption in the community, especially in poor and vulnerable families.

"The effectiveness of social assistance in achieving quality human life in the future will decrease if the recipients of aid do not use the money to buy the main needs of the family members," he said.

Renny recommended that nonsmoking be an additional prerequisite for prospective recipients of social assistance.

KOMPAS/ERIKA KURNIA

The results of PKJS UI 2019 research on the correlation between social assistance and smoking based on the 2016 and 2017 Susenas (national social-economic census) data analysis and the Indonesia Family Life Survey  in Jakarta, Tuesday (2/7/2019).

The director general of Social Protection and Security of the Social Affairs Ministry, Harry Hikmat, said 62 percent of PKH recipients had smokers in their families. (ERK)