PM Erdoğan receives WHO award for anti-tobacco efforts

The award was presented to Erdoğan by Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO’s regional director for Europe. Speaking at the event, Erdoğan mentioned the Council of State’s recent efforts to relax the smoking ban. The Council of State asked the Constitutional Court nearly two months ago to relax the smoking ban for kahvehanes, traditional Turkish teahouses where men gather to smoke and have tea, claiming that the ban violates personal freedoms and makes it more difficult for businesses to survive.

“It is very difficult to make a modification on an issue. However, some studies show that nearly 92 percent of Turkey’s population approves of the smoking ban, which is a good indicator that our people prefer to side with an innovation to protect people’s health. Therefore, I believe that the Constitutional Court will make a decision beneficial for the Turkish people by rejecting the Council of State’s effort to relax the ban for kahvehanes,” Erdoğan said.

The first phase of the law banning smoking went into effect on May 19, 2008. It prohibited smoking tobacco products in state buildings, including hallways and corridors, in all enclosed areas of educational, health, production, commercial, social, cultural and sports facilities and in public transportation vehicles, including taxis, buses, ferries and airplanes. On July 19, 2009, the law went into full effect, with restaurants, coffeehouses, cafeterias and bars also designated as smoke-free areas.

Noting that the sales of cigarettes had decreased considerably following the smoking ban, Erdoğan underlined that the number of people going to hospitals due to smoking-related complications also decreased by 30 percent following the smoking ban.

Saying that people were exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke by others smoking, Erdoğan noted that this is a kind of violation of human rights, underlining that protecting people’s health is one of the duties of a government.

“I love my people, my citizens and my country. I want them to live their lives in good health. This is my aim with the smoking ban. There is no ulterior reason behind Turkey’s indoor smoking ban, despite what some people may think. In addition, I have never heard from a representative of a health institution throughout the world that smoking cigarette is a beneficial thing. Nobody has a right to damage people’s health,” Erdoğan explained in his speech.

“Just as drunk driving is dangerous for the driver, passengers, other motorists and pedestrians, smoking is hazardous for both active and secondhand smokers,” Erdoğan said, adding that he will always continue to campaign against smoking.

He also said that 2.5 percent of coffeehouse owners and 3.5 percent of their customers have quit smoking since Turkey extended the smoking ban to bars, restaurants and coffeehouses.

Thirty-three percent of coffeehouse owners and 25 percent of their customers also have reported lighting up less frequently since the ban was introduced in this nation of heavy smokers, he noted.

Tobacco consumption remains high in Turkey. The Health Ministry says up to 16 million adults -- or around 22 percent of the population -- are smokers.