Smoking has declined by 15 percent in Turkey since an amendment was made to Law 4207 on the Prevention and Control of Hazards of Tobacco Products four years ago, the chairwoman of the National Cigarette and Health Committee (SSUK) has said.
Cigarette butts in the ash
Recalling that Jan. 3, 2008 was the date when the amendment was passed in Parliament, Elif Dağlı, in comments to the Anatolia news agency on Tuesday, said: “Four years have passed since the amendment came into effect, and it has yielded positive results during this time. The smoking rate has decreased by 15 percent and the number of people being admitted to hospitals for treatment for smoking-related diseases has decreased by roughly 20 percent in Turkey.”
Expressing the SSUK’s satisfaction with the effectiveness of the anti-smoking law, Dağlı thanked deputies for adopting such an effective and valuable amendment.
Turkey is the sixth country in the world to adopt legislation to tackle smoking. The World Health Organization (WHO) has admired Turkey’s effectiveness in its fight against smoking, ranking Turkey fourth in Europe in terms of having one of the most effective anti-smoking laws. Turkey’s success created a domino effect in Europe, with 32 countries adopting similar anti-smoking laws, Dağlı mentioned.
Referring to violations of the law, Dağlı stated: “According to field studies, some nargile [water pipe] cafe owners want to be exempt from the legislation, arguing that they don’t sell any tobacco products in the cafes and that these enterprises get around the legislation by using retractable roof systems, allowing customers to smoke in the cafes in the open air, but this is also not permitted. Additionally, even though advertisements, brand names, logos and other symbols connected to tobacco products are prohibited from being displayed anywhere under the law, some tobacco product sellers don’t obey this rule in some parts of Turkey.”
Proposing that Parliament enact further measures to prevent the law from being violated, Dağlı said, “Enterprises that tolerate their clients smoking inside should be closed after two official warnings, and inspections should be carried out more often under new legislation.”
With the amendment to Law 4207, smoking is not be permitted in indoor sections of cafes, bars, restaurants and the like. The operators of such businesses are responsible for monitoring their clients’ compliance with the law and reporting any violation by telephoning the closest police station or by directly calling 184, the Ministry of Health’s Communication Center (SABİM). The indoor smoking ban calls for a TL 69 fine for those who smoke in a prohibited area and a fine of up to TL 5,600 for operators who allow it to happen.
