In Turkey, one person dies every 6 minutes due to smoking-related diseases. In order to prevent all deaths and chronic diseases, laws that raise awareness of citizens about smoking and protect public health in our country have been adopted and put into effect earlier than many countries in the world.
The “Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)”, the first international agreement in the fight against smoking, was adopted at the 56th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 21 May 2003. It was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on April 28, 2004 and entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette. Turkey is the 43rd country to sign the convention and today 181 countries are parties to this convention.
With the signing of the FCTC, the efforts for tobacco control initiated in our country gained momentum. The first “National Tobacco Control Program”, which was prepared in cooperation with nearly 130 experts from relevant Ministries, universities, and non-governmental organizations, was published with the Prime Ministry Circular on October 07, 2006. Subsequently, the “National Tobacco Control Program Action Plan 2008-2012” was prepared and introduced to the public on 12 December 2007 by Mr. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN. For the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Program, “Provincial Tobacco Control Committees” were established in 81 provinces in 2007. In December 2007, the Department of Combating Tobacco and Substance Addiction was established in the Ministry of Health in order to make the activities more effective and sustainable.
With the momentum it added to Turkey's efforts to combat smoking, Law No. 5727 “Law Amending the Law on the Prevention of Harms of Tobacco Products” was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on January 3, 2008. The provisions of the law on indoor areas open to the public entered into force on May 19, 2008, and the provision on the prohibition of consumption of tobacco products in restaurants owned by private law persons and establishments providing entertainment services such as coffee houses, cafeterias and beer houses entered into force on July 19, 2009. With the entry into force of the law in all its provisions, smoking is banned in all enclosed spaces, except for residential dwellings. The law aims to protect the whole community, especially children and young people, from passive exposure to traditional cigarette smoke.
As of July 19, 2009, according to WHO data, Turkey has become the 6th country in the world and the 3rd country in Europe after Bermuda, New Zealand, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which have the most comprehensive legislation on smoking control.
On 25 February 2011, with the regulation made by Law No. 6111, the authority to impose fines on businesses was taken from the municipalities and given to local authorities, while with the legislative amendments made on 12 July 2012, the authority to impose administrative fines on businesses that violate the provisions of Law No. 4207 without a written warning was given.
In its tobacco control efforts since 2008, Turkey has been implementing the WHO's tobacco control recommendations for all member states to guide tobacco control efforts. It was the first country to fulfill all the criteria of the “Policy Package to Control the Tobacco Epidemic” (M-POWER). This success achieved by our country with the legal arrangements made on July 12, 2012, was announced to all countries by the Regional Director for Europe at the 62nd Regional Meeting of the WHO European Region held on September 10, 2012 and the WHO Regional Office for Europe held the 2012 Evaluation Meeting in our country on September 18-20, 2012 with the participation of 42 country representatives.
The “International Protocol to Prevent Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products” prepared under Article 15 of the FCTC was opened for signature by WHO on January 10, 2013 and Turkey was one of the 12 countries that signed the protocol on the first day. The “International Protocol for the Suppression of Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products” was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on October 25, 2017 and entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
Amendments have been made to the Law No. 4207 on the Prevention and Control of Losses of Tobacco Products with Articles 26 and 27 of the "Law on Amendments to Certain Laws and Legislative Decree No. 375" numbered 6487, which was published and enacted in the Official Gazette dated 11 June 2013 and numbered 28674. With these changes, the consumption of tobacco products in the driver's seats of private vehicles is prohibited.
In the “2013 Global Tobacco Epidemic Report” prepared by the World Health Organization and announced on July 10, 2013, it was officially declared that Turkey was the first country to fulfill all of the M-POWER criteria and that it was shown as an example to the whole world in tobacco control efforts.
The “National Tobacco Control Program Action Plan” covering the period 2015-2018 entered into force after it was updated in line with the needs of our country in accordance with the spirit of FCTC and published in the Official Gazette.
The 2015/6 numbered Tobacco Control Practices Circular of the Ministry of Health has been published for the implementation of the studies to be carried out within the scope of the action plan in the 2015-2018 period. With the Circular, regulations have been made to prevent the use of tobacco and tobacco products in closed areas as well as in some open areas, which are used extensively by the public.
In this context, new regulations have been introduced on the following;
- Preventing the consumption of cigarettes at a minimum distance of 5 meters to the entrance gates of indoor areas such as airports, bus terminals, train stations, shopping malls, cinemas, theaters, health institutions and organizations that are used extensively and where there is a mass entrance and exit,
- Expanding Smoke-Free Campus practices by ensuring that our public institutions and organizations allow cigarette consumption only in designated areas of open spaces, that the ratio of these areas to the total open space is no more than 30%, and that they are at least 10 meters away from the entrance door,
- Carrying out activities to prevent smoking in all open areas such as public playgrounds, which are mainly used by children, and in areas created by institutions for citizens to do sports such as walking paths and exercise areas.
With the Prime Ministry Circular No. 2015/1, it was decided to establish the “National Tobacco Control Coordination Committee” within the scope of the National Tobacco Control Program Action Plan. In this context, the Committee held its first meeting on 14.05.2015 under the coordination of the Ministry of Health with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Family and Social Policies, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Ministry of Customs and Trade, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of National Education, Radio and Television Supreme Council and Turkish Statistical Institute.
“National Tobacco Control Program Action Plan Workshop and Provincial Evaluation Meeting” was organized in Antalya between 18-20 November 2015 in order to evaluate the activities carried out under the National Tobacco Control Program Action Plan. Representatives of stakeholder institutions, professional and non-governmental organizations, academicians, and provincial representatives of the Ministry of Health attended the meeting. During the meeting, in addition to the evaluation of the action plan, problems experienced in the field within the scope of tobacco control activities, solution proposals and evaluations regarding the development of anti-tobacco activities were made.
The Ministry of Health is working with young people who voluntarily participate in non-governmental organizations for the purpose of “Protection of Children and Youth from the Harm of Tobacco Products”, which is one of the main objectives of the anti-smoking activities carried out in Turkey. The first one was held on 09-10 April 2016 and the second one was held on 30 May 2016 in the Civil Society and Youth Workshop in the Fight Against Tobacco, and studies were included to ensure the protection of young people from tobacco products and their active participation in the fight against smoking. The “Youth Action Plan for Combating Tobacco”, which was created as a result of these studies carried out by the Ministry of Health with young people, was introduced to the public by a representative chosen by young people during the celebrations of World Tobacco Free Day on May 31, 2016.
The Tobacco Control Strategy Document and Action Plan has been updated to cover the period 2018-2023 in order to protect all individuals from the health, economic, environmental, and social harms of tobacco products. The Tobacco Control Strategy Document and Action Plan, which was strengthened with the addition of new initiatives and activities in line with current needs to the activities to be continued from the 2015-2018 Tobacco Control Strategy Document and Action Plans, was signed by the Chairman of the High Council for Combating Addiction on May 30, 2018 and entered into force.
The Tobacco Control Strategy Document and Action Plan, which was strengthened with the addition of new initiatives and activities in line with current needs to the activities to be continued from the 2015-2018 Tobacco Control Strategy Document and Action Plans, was signed by the Chairman of the High Council for Combating Addiction on May 30, 2018 and entered into force.
With the Presidential Circular No. 2019/2 published in the Official Gazette No. 30686 dated February 14, 2019, the High Council for Combating Addiction was instructed to convene under the chairmanship of the Vice President. The High Council was reconstituted with the participation of the Ministers of Justice, Family, Labor and Social Services, Environment and Urbanization, Youth and Sports, Treasury and Finance, Interior, National Education, Health, Agriculture and Forestry, Trade, Transportation and Infrastructure and the Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Health Policy Board.
On August 09, 2019, the Working Procedures and Principles of the Committees for Combating Addiction, which were approved at the UNCRC meeting held on July 03, 2019, were sent to 81 provincial governorships and relevant institutions.
In addition, extra measures have been taken in the fight against smoking in our country, taking into account the effects of the Covid 19 Pandemic. In this context, the following are prohibited;
- With the Circular of the Ministry of Interior dated March 2020 and numbered 5361, the activities of hookah serving establishments were temporarily banned in order to prevent the spread of Covid 19 outbreak. With the Circular of the Ministry of Interior dated June 27, 2021 and numbered 10530, hookah serving establishments are not allowed to start operating again within the scope of normalization efforts.
- With the Circular of the Ministry of Interior dated 11.11.2020 and numbered 18579, smoking has been banned in all provinces as of 12.11.2020 in areas such as streets, squares and stops of public transportation vehicles where citizens are/ can be found intensively, in order to ensure that the mask is worn correctly and continuously.
Between July 19, 2009 and February 28, 2021, 29.434.942 inspections were carried out nationwide by 1,453 inspection teams. During these inspections, 469.797.829 TL administrative fines were imposed between July 19, 2009 and December 31, 2021 on businesses and violators who were found to be in violation of the provisions of the law.
Our country has achieved significant success in “tax increase”, which is one of the provisions of the FCTC and considered as one of the most effective practices in tobacco control. The Ministry of Finance gave full support to the efforts carried out in this context and the tax rate, which the World Health Organization wants to be at least 75% on tobacco products, is 86.60% as of 2022.