Tobacco consumption
31.6% of Turkish adults (aged 15 years and over) currently smoke tobacco. 144.1% of men and 19.2% of women currently smoke tobacco. Among youth (aged 13-15 years), 17.9% currently smoke tobacco (23.2% of boys and 12.1% of girls), 7.7% currently smoke cigarettes (9.9% of boys and 5.3% of girls), and 12.8% currently smoke other tobacco products (17.3% of boys and 8% of girls).
Passive smoking
10.6% of adults (aged 15 and over) who work indoors are exposed to tobacco smoke at work, 12.7% in restaurants, and 28% in cafes. 151.8% of young people (aged 13-15) are exposed to secondhand smoke in enclosed public places, and 46.1% are exposed to secondhand smoke at home.2
Health effects
Approximately 85,000 people die from smoking-related diseases in Turkey every year. 29.2% of deaths in men and 8.2% of deaths in women in Turkey are attributable to tobacco smoke (21.1% overall). In Turkey, one in five deaths from cardiovascular diseases is attributable to tobacco, as well as half of deaths from chronic respiratory diseases and more than three-quarters of deaths from tracheal, bronchial and lung cancers.
Tobacco Industry
Turkey’s tobacco market is dominated by international tobacco companies. In 2018, Philip Morris International held 43.6% of the tobacco market, followed by British American Tobacco with 23.3%, Japan Tobacco with 18%, domestic companies European Tobacco with 2.4% and Imperial Tobacco Group with 2.1%. Around 118.5 billion cigarettes were sold in Turkey in 2018.4
FCTC Status
Turkey ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on December 31, 2004. The treaty came into force on March 31, 2005.
Current status of tobacco control policies
For an overview of smoking cessation, advertising and promotion, packaging and labelling, taxation and pricing measures, download our factsheet on the current state of tobacco control policy in Turkey. For more information, visit the Tobacco Control Law website.
1Turkey Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2016.
2Turkey Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2017.
3 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017. Seattle, WA: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, 2020.
4 Euromonitor International 2019.
Last updated: August 5, 2020
