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Improving Health: The Heart of the Matter
BOX 3.2 A Strong Policy Response for Tobacco Control in Turkey Smoking has long been a deeply rooted tradition in Turkey, especially among males. Between 1980 and 2000, tobacco use in Turkey nearly doubled, with annual cigarette sales increasing from US$55 billion to US$100 billion. There are currently about 16 million adult smokers in Turkey, and it has the highest male smoking rate among OECD countries at about 50 percent. Among women, around 15 percent are smokers, and this rate is on the rise. Over 50,000 people die each year from tobacco-related diseases, and among men, they are the most common cause of death. Without effective tobacco control measures, it has been estimated that the number of annual tobacco-attributable deaths would reach 127,000 by 2050. Until recently, Turkey was also one of the major tobacco-producing countries in the world. Turkey’s first tobacco control law was passed in 1996, and in 2004, the Turkish Parliament ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international treaty to reduce tobacco consumption under the auspices of WHO. In recent years, the government has stepped up its commitment to curbing the smoking epidemic. In 2008 and 2012, further amendments to tobacco control legislation were passed. As a result, Turkey now has some of the most comprehensive and advanced tobacco control measures in the world. These include: • An increase in the tobacco tax to about 75 percent of the retail price • A complete ban on smoking in public places, on advertising and promotion of tobacco products, and on sales of tobacco products to minors • Prominent picture-based health warnings • Generic packaging of cigarettes • Public anti-smoking campaigns • Increased access to smoking cessation products and treatment In 2010, Turkey ranked fourth in the European Tobacco Control Scale published by the Association of European Cancer Leagues. Although existing prevalence data may not yet capture the impact of these recent measures, emerging evidence points to positive results from Turkey’s advanced tobacco control program. Since the implementation of the expanded smoke-free law in 2008 and the tax increase in January 2010, cigarette sales in Turkey have decreased by 10.7 percent. In addition to the government’s high level of commitment, the success of tobacco control in Turkey can also be attributed to very good multisectoral collaboration and a strong civil society movement for tobacco control. More than 100 government agencies and nongovernmental organizations participated in the preparation of the National Tobacco Control Program and Plan of Action in 2008. The Turkish National Coalition on Tobacco or Health consists of more than 40 Turkish organizations working on tobacco control. The coalition has been very active in advocating for stringent and comprehensive tobacco control laws and monitoring the reinforcement of such laws.
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