As Turkey marked World No Tobacco Day on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan found another opportunity to reiterate his fierce opposition to smoking. The architect of a landmark ban on indoor smoking, the president slammed the smoking rates and warned youth not to fall for smokeless electronic cigarettes, which are “not different from others.”

The president hosted a group of youth, from athletes to actors, for an event highlighting the dangers of smoking held at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara.

He listed a series of measures the governments of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) took, from “indoors smoking ban to high taxes,” adding they were involved in an efficient struggle that helped “a relative decline in smoking rates.”

Erdoğan noted that young people who made Turkey proud with their accomplishments instilled in them hope for the future in the fight against tobacco products, wishing increasing awareness against “this fatal danger.”

“The tobacco pandemic tops the list of causes of deaths in terms of preventable diseases and is the biggest global health threat. Every year, 100,000 people in our country and 7 million in the world die of smoking-related diseases. Unfortunately, we are still not in a place we desire (in terms of curbing smoking rates),” he said.

The president, who is known for “seizing” cigarette packs of smokers he comes across, in return for a promise to quit the habit, said he has been fighting a struggle against smoking since his youth. “I am taking their cigarette packs because I love the people. I love my citizens and want to save them from something that would hurt them,” he said.

He also highlighted the danger of electronic cigarettes, hookahs and cigars, which have been replacing more popular cigarette brands. “We are expanding our fight against smoking,” he said.

Although days of people chain-smoking in hospital corridors and public buses may be long gone, Turkey is not entirely "smoke-free." Smoking addiction causes diseases that kill thousands in the country every year, making it the primary target of governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Smoking was banned at all indoor venues in 2008 in a revolutionary step for the country that gave rise to the term “smoking like a Turk.” However, figures show that more than 15 million people still smoke across the nation. Apart from the indoor smoking ban, the government implements all other options at its disposal to eradicate the addiction, from offering free treatment to addicts to placing steep taxes on tobacco products. The Health Ministry also runs a hotline for addicts, which, according to figures quoted by Anadolu Agency (AA), helped 40% of callers kick the habit last year. The hotline is linked to smoking cessation clinics set up across the country in the fight against smoking. The extent of the caller's addiction is tested before they are provided with individually tailored strategies to quit. Specialists guide them throughout the process, especially on methods to overcome nicotine deprivation, and staunch addicts are directed to clinics. Health care crews monitor addicts for one year to help and motivate them throughout the process. Last year, some 700,000 people called the hotline.

Official figures show that the rate of smokers rose to 28% in 2019, from 26.5% in 2016 – with 52.9% of males between the ages of 35 and 44 smoking daily according to official figures, while the figure for women stood at 24.1%. Figures by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that 31% of fatalities among men in Turkey stem from diseases caused by smoking, while this rate is 12% for women./DS