DUBAL – President Tayyip Erdogan gathered with athletes from various countries, children and young people at a program held at Vahdettin Mansion in Üsküdar, Istanbul, on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day on May 31.
“Every year, 85,000 people in our country are killed by this monster called tobacco. Tobacco not only poisons people, it pollutes the world,” Erdogan said in his speech here. “Despite all the harm that tobacco causes, the tobacco industry continues to grow, earning $700 billion every year.”
Below are the key points of President Erdogan’s speech:
-We have taken very important steps, from banning smoking in enclosed spaces to increasing fines and imposing high taxes. We have made health warnings on cigarette packages more clear and effective. We have tried to raise social awareness with our “Smoke-Free Airspace” and “Protect Our Air” campaigns. Our government is waging the most effective and determined fight against tobacco products. I am happy to report that as a result of our uncompromising stance, smoking in our country has slightly decreased. I believe that every citizen and the entire human race should be vigilant against this insidious danger. Hopefully, we will continue our fight on many fronts with more determination in the future.
– I am pleased that as a result of our uncompromising stance, smoking in our country has decreased slightly.
– They are having a hard time bringing e-cigarettes into our country through various routes. Unfortunately, there are some leaks through illegal means, but our customs are currently fighting a good fight on this issue. There are people coming to us through various routes. We did not allow this until now.
– There are some brands that you may have heard of and know. We do not allow it, we do not allow it because we have found it to be more harmful and have removed it. We will never tolerate the poisoning of our population, so we are building a system where this initiative and preventative measures can be taken.
– (Tobacco industry efforts to influence the government) make us wonder: “How can they get into Turkey through various routes?” These are powerful, huge brands in the world, but we have never fallen for this game before and we hope we will not fall for this game again.
– (Use of Hookah) Hookah is very popular, but the phenomenon of smoking hookah did not come from Egypt. Now many places have banned it. He has a deceptive attitude. They call it “fruit hookah”. That’s how they deceive.
– Unfortunately, all this poisons the youth, which is why hookah smoking has become common in certain places, especially coffee houses. But we will struggle and we will succeed, and we believe we will do better.
(News Center)
