Tobacco control policies in Turkey could cut smoking among adults by at least a quarter

On 7 September 2011, the United Nations Office in Turkey hosted a seminar organized by the WHO Country Office in Turkey to discuss the findings of an evaluation on the effect of tobacco control policies on smoking prevalence and tobacco-attributable deaths in Turkey.

Professor Cevdet Erdöl, Chairman of the Health Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and Dr Maria Cristina Profili, World Health Organization Representative in Turkey, opened the seminar.

Professor Erdöl explained some of the immediate effects of the Smoke-Free Air Zone Initiative introduced by the tobacco control law. “The strong public support for the Initiative has been possible as a result of arduous efforts to inform and sensitize citizens in the most objective way” he said. He added that the level of adoption will further rise in line with continual efforts and that there is no turning back. Professor Erdöl noted that cigarette sales declined by 10 to 15% in one year and this brought about statistically significant health results. According to the initial results after the first year of implementation:

• admissions to hospital emergency services due to heart attack and similar cardiac complaints have declined by 33%, and
• admissions to hospitals with asthma and other pulmonary diseases have declined by 21%.

Professor Erdöl recommended that the definition of indoor and outdoor areas should be made clearer to enterprises in order to avoid misconceptions and misunderstanding now that practice in some places is not in accord with the current regulation. “Most businesses now permit smoking at all tables in outdoor spaces whereas only 20% of these tables can be reserved for that. We need to intensify our targeted information and education efforts”.

With the launch of tobacco control policies in the country (i.e. raising cigarette prices, banning smoking in indoor areas, a full ban on advertising of tobacco, effective anti-smoking media campaigns, effective graphic warnings on packages of tobacco products, cessation treatments and building barriers between young people and children and access to tobacco products), smoking prevalence is expected to decline by 25.8% among men and 26.4% among women by 2020, which means over 3 million men and 1 million women (total 4 .1 million people) will have quit smoking, according to Dr David Levy, Senior Economist at the Pacific Institute of Washington Baltimore University, USA. These measures will prevent the premature loss of 635,000 lives because of diseases associated with smoking.

Several key stakeholders from different institutions participated in the meeting, including the Head of the Tobacco Control Department of Ministry of Health (MoH), the Head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department of Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority (TAPDK), the Deputy Chairman of Social Security Institution (SGK), the President of National Coalition on Tobacco and Smoking (SSUK), as well as authorities from the Ministry of Finance and scientists from several universities.

Dr Profili said: “Turkey has become one of the four most successful countries worldwide in the fight against tobacco use owing to the measures it has taken in recent years, and is now identified as a model country by WHO. One of the key successes of the government policy on tobacco control is strong intersectoral collaboration to combat the tobacco epidemic. The presence of a large number of key institutions at this meeting is a testament to this effort”. Dr Profili congratulated participants for the efforts they had already made and added that WHO/Europe will continue its support, as well as sharing the Turkish experience with other countries.