Draft law could impose lifetime smoking ban on people born after 2015

ANKARA

Professor Toker Ergüder announced that the proposed legislation is expected to be submitted to the Turkish Parliament in October. (AA Photo)

Türkiye is preparing legislation that would permanently ban people born after Jan. 1, 2015, from using or selling tobacco products, as part of a broader package of measures aimed at reducing smoking and protecting children and young people.

The proposed legislation, which has been under preparation by the Health Ministry for about a year, is expected to be submitted to the Turkish Parliament in October, according to Professor Toker Ergüder, who is involved in drafting the bill. 

The proposal would also introduce new rules for cigarette packaging and seek to eliminate so-called “slim” cigarettes, which are marketed in a thinner format.

Under the draft, people born after Jan. 1, 2015, would be prohibited throughout their lives from using, smoking or selling tobacco products. Ergüder said the measure was intended particularly to protect children and young people and noted that similar generational tobacco restrictions have been adopted or proposed in several other countries.

The draft also envisages tighter restrictions on smoking in both indoor and outdoor public spaces. Smoking would be prohibited in both indoor and outdoor sections of restaurants, while designated smoking areas would be established in parks, gardens and the grounds of public buildings. These areas would be positioned so that smoking would not be visible from outside, with the stated aim of preventing children and young people from seeing others smoke.

Ergüder said the proposed measures were prompted in part by a significant increase in cigarette sales in Türkiye over the past decade. Annual cigarette sales rose from about 91,000 tons, or 4.5 billion packs, in 2012 to approximately 160,000 tons, or 8 billion packs, in 2025, he said.

The draft also sets out a longer-term plan to end tobacco production and sales in the country. According to Ergüder, the proposal would prohibit the production and sale of tobacco products entirely from 2040.

He said Türkiye needed to reassess its tobacco-control policies and described the proposed legislation as part of a broader effort to move toward a country where tobacco use is no longer widespread. He also pointed to Ireland, the United Kingdom, Finland and Australia as countries pursuing similar long-term measures, in some cases with earlier target dates.

Recently, several of Antalya’s most popular public beaches had introduced a smoking ban in an effort to reduce cigarette-butt pollution and protect marine ecosystems.