As soon as they found out I was from Turkey, they began making jokes about my smoking culture.“Turco” said an Italian whom I had met on the remote coast of Sardinia in the late '70s, “sai che puo fumare piu di un Turco?”
“Who can smoke more than a Turk?” sounded like an impossible question to answer.
“Due Turchi!” he loudly replied, showing the number with his fingers, laughing.
Only two Turks can smoke more than a Turk.
No more.
The smoking ban, due to cover the entire public sphere in Turkey after an 18-month period of adjustment, will be a historic test for a society where the legend of chain smoking, for all ages and often without filters, is widely known.
I belong to a generation that has grown up surrounded by cigarette smoke, except in school classrooms. Smoking in secret at the secondary school was a passage to adulthood, a test of toughness. I resisted the temptation but gave in during my first year at university. It took me 20 years to stop.
I thought about the ban after I heard the news about a dear old friend; a famous actor, who was 73 and smoked his entire life despite a bypass 10 years ago, was rushed to the hospital in Ankara after a stroke. Relieved by the news that he survived, I considered how difficult quitting will be for Turks and others who live here.
The move by the government is certainly timely, commendable and courageous. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that smoking in Turkey has increased by 80 percent and that at least 100,000 people die of tobacco-related illnesses every year. Easily double that number actually die from tobacco-related illnesses every year because most of the medical reports do not state the real cause of death.
We are talking about some 20 million plus smokers, the majority of whom are men.
We are talking about a country where men meet in coffeehouses – certainly a national landmark – solely to offer each other cigarettes.
We are talking about owners of coffeehouses and nargile (water pipe) cafes whose source of income is, indirectly, through smoking.
We are talking about a country where the cigarette lobby is very influential and manipulative.
These few points illustrate how great the challenge will be for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, since the voting majority consists of smokers. In many official public buildings, it will be difficult to make those who feel privileged and “immune” to punishment obey the law; therefore, the enforcement must start, obviously, from such “exemplary” places.
In general, the monitoring of the ban – indoors and the adjacent outdoor areas of these public places – and the enforcement of the law is a huge, costly task. Thousands of officers -– certainly many of whom must operate in disguise, in order for the task to be effective -– must be spread throughout urban and rural areas. A lot of tension and fights are expected. Positive results will likely to be more easily achieved in urban areas than in rural ones. The ban is reportedly supported by the large majority of some 50 million non-smokers, and those hopeful of the ban being successful point to a new spirit of vigilance in densely populated areas.
It remains to be seen whether the ban will cause a decrease in profit and later a closure of businesses – such as cafes and similar venues, like in other countries. To be more effective, the government must also increase the tax on tobacco products and move the tax burden from “politically sensitive” areas such as alcoholic beverages, which are correctly linked to the allegations of Islamization in the country. The argument, among others, is that there is no lethal passive drinking, unlike smoking.
That said, I am, like many others, very pleased about the curb on smoking. This change, despite the challenge, puts Turkey in a league of health-conscious nations, certainly a surprise move from a people called double smokers.
