Smoking

[jj]

Justice Commission approves a new anti-smoking law that, if passed by Parliament, will impose strict new rules on smoking, but there are doubts concerning how heavy smokers will be persuaded to abide by them

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


Parliament's Justice Commission's decision to approve an anti-smoking law this week is expected to seriously change the way Turks live. Smoking is an ancestral tradition that goes back to the 17th century, when the "nargile" -- the hookah, or water pipe -- became a fixture in Ottoman coffee houses.

For about half the adult population of Turkey, smoking is an absolutely normal activity, the result being a permanent national health disaster with anti-smoking campaigns making barely a dent in the habit.

Health Ministry figures show about 110,000 Turks die of smoking-related illness each year. About 60 percent of men and 20 percent of women in the country of 71 million people are smokers, one of the highest rates in Europe.

Nicotine addiction has reached worrying levels even in schools, where 11.7 percent of schoolchildren smoke, according to ministry figures, despite a ban on the sale of tobacco products to minors.

Even among the justice commission members failed to agree on the extent of the ban, with smokers among them describing the bill as an execution order for smokers.

Justice and Development Party (AKP) Gümüþhane deputy Mahmut Durdu said every article of the anti-smoking bill was problematic, while Adýyaman deputy Hüsrev Kutlu argued that most diseases were due to stress, describing smoking as a way to combat stress.

The bill approved by the commission still needs to be passed by Parliament's General Assembly.

Turkish Anti-smoking Fighters Foundation (SSV), Ubeyd Korbey, has said that warning messages on cigarettes packets, in concert with a series of anti-smoking advertisements, has decreased the number of people addicted to smoking in Turkey over the past six years.

In a statement made to the Anatolia news agency, Korbey asserted that the effects of a more concerted fight against cigarettes in Turkey were beginning to be seen, and that a significant drop had been registered in the number of addicted smokers since 1999.

[jj]

Parliament gears up on imposing tough anti-smoking rules as part of its efforts to fight the addiction, but there are some who believe this law will end up like the similar laws that came before, constantly violated

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News


Millions of Turks for decades have been doing their utmost to live up to the world famous saying “smokes like a Turk,” but recent efforts have begun to curb their enthusiasm.

Parliament's Justice Commission approved an anti-smoking law this week that will pretty much segregate smokers from public life much to the chagrin of a culture of smoking that has fed the public imagination for almost a century.

The anti-smoking lawmakers have drawn the ire of the owners of coffee and tea houses, who see the bill as a threat to their business.

Smoking is also an ancestral tradition that goes back to the 17th century, when the "nargile" -- the hookah, or water pipe -- became a fixture in Ottoman coffee houses.

The contraption is now enjoying a revival among the youth of Turkey's big cities after several decades of being out of fashion.

"How can you prevent someone from lighting up while sipping a cup of Turkish coffee?" asked Ýsa Guven, president of an Ankara chamber of cafe owners. "They are using the EU as an excuse to kill off our ancient profession."



Half of adult Turkey smokes:

For about half the adult population of Turkey, smoking is an absolutely normal activity, the result being a permanent national health disaster with anti-smoking campaigns making barely a dent in the habit.

Health Ministry figures show about 110,000 Turks die of smoking-related illness each year. About 60 percent of men and 20 percent of women in the country of 71 million people are smokers, one of the highest rates in Europe.

The lung cancer rate is high, and two-thirds of the 150,000 cases recorded annually are a direct result of smoking, said Dr. Murat Tuncer, head of the Health Ministry's anti-cancer unit.

"The rate of tobacco-related cancer cases drops by 2 percent a year in the United States," he said. "In Turkey, it increases by 6 percent -- this is nothing short of an epidemic," he said. “If we do not win the war on smoking, we will never conquer cancer."

Tuncer said the huge proportion of smokers, even among health professionals, was a particular source of exasperation.

Nicotine addiction has reached worrying levels even in grade schools, where 11.7 percent of schoolchildren smoke, according to ministry figures, despite a ban on the sale of tobacco products to minors.

Among the reasons for the high smoking rate is relatively low prices, for example $3.30 for a pack of Marlboros, and the fact that Turkey itself is a major tobacco producer, responsible for 4 percent of the world output.



‘They're trying to execute all smokers'

The anti-smoking bill caused heated debates within the Justice Commission during the discussions.

Justice and Development Party (AKP) Gümüþhane deputy Mahmut Durdu said every article of the anti-smoking bill was problematic, adding: “You are trying to ban tobacco. What our friends are trying to do is to execute all the smokers. This is not possible. The bill needs to be amended.” Durdu described quitting smoking as a breakup of two lovers, adding, “It would be wonderful if we removed smoking altogether, but that's impossible. I smoke and I am very healthy. Smokers need to be considered too. My parents pleaded with me to quit, but I failed to do so.”

AKP Adýyaman deputy Hüsrev Kutlu said if they did not assess the bill in detail, they would be held responsible for its mistakes. Kutlu also argued that most diseases were due to stress, describing smoking as a way to combat stress. “It is impossible to quit smoking while involved in politics. Murat IV hung those who violated his bans. This law is not too different.”

Republican People's Party (CHP) Tekirdað deputy Mehmet Nuri Saygun said smoking was banned everywhere by the law, adding, “The only place where one can smoke is in the mountains. You see us smokers as second-class citizens, but we deserve more respect.”

AKP deputy Resul Tosun said the ban was useless unless implemented, adding that only 49 people had been fined in the 10 years since the last smoking ban.



Total ban on smoking:

The bill approved by the commission still needs to be passed by Parliament's General Assembly. According to the bill, smoking is banned in all enclosed spaces including the corridors of where more than one person congregates, all public transportation vehicles and taxis, educational institutions, cultural centers for children and the open spaces near all medical and religious centers. There will also be a smoking ban in stadiums, where there will be special smoking areas.

[The March Hare]

That's going to hit them very hard ,but it was on the cards that it would happen sometime.

[juicyjude]

Yes we have noticed when we are on hol that all the Turkish people seem to smoke and it is even more noticable now we have cut back a lot in this country.