Inspector numbers will increase from 4,167 to 8,000 in an attempt to forestall an expected drop in enforcement of the ban when the weather becomes chilly and people start to spend more time indoors.The Health Ministry will launch the winter leg of the fight against smoking during a meeting of local health directors scheduled to be held in Antalya on Nov. 9-13. Current inspectors will attend a new training session before the start of the winter season, and some of them will be replaced with new inspectors. Surveys show that 99 percent of smokers have complied with the ban since July 19 and that cigarette consumption has fallen to the lowest level in the past five years.
Because of worries that the ban may not be enforced properly, authorities have decided to take a series of steps to ensure that the ban continues to be strictly observed. The first step is the increase in the number of inspectors. There are currently 4,167 inspectors supervising enforcement of the ban in 1,005 locations. The inspection teams include police officers, municipal supervisors and other civil servants from a range of fields, including health, education, environment and social service. Inspections will be increased in the months to come as new inspectors are hired. The teams must include at least one police or gendarmerie officer because they are authorized to issue a fine in the event the ban is breached. Violators of the ban must pay TL 69 if they are smokers; the fine rises to between TL 560 and TL 5,600 if the violator is the owner of a business where the ban has been breached.
Members of the inspection teams will receive thorough and comprehensive training before the launch of the winter campaign since violation of the ban may be more frequent during this period. Inspectors will be replaced if they show signs of exhaustion. Provincial tobacco boards are also discussing additional measures to facilitate inspections. The boards seek to provide additional vehicles and cameras to be used for recording. However, the working hours of police officers and teachers pose the greatest challenge; because they carry out inspections outside of their regular working hours, teachers and police officers face an efficiency problem. Measures to address this issue are currently being considered, including the provision of additional pay to these inspectors.
