Ministry of Health's new fund draft: 20 TL per pack of cigarettes, 20 percent contribution fee for snacks
The draft, which is planned to be submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), envisages deductions from tobacco, sugary drinks, and high-calorie snacks for a health fund.
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A 25-article draft law prepared within the Ministry of Health envisages the collection of new contribution fees from tobacco products and certain food groups. The regulation, planned under the name "Contribution Fund for a Healthy Life," is aimed to be submitted to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in October or November.
According to the draft, it is planned to collect a contribution fee of 20 TL per pack from packaged tobacco products and 100 TL per kilogram from unpackaged tobacco sold by weight. Considering that an average of 5.5 billion packs of cigarettes are consumed annually in Turkey, it is calculated that approximately 110 billion liras of resources could be transferred to the fund from this item.
SUGARY DRINKS AND SNACKS ALSO INCLUDED
The regulation will not be limited to tobacco products only. The draft envisages collecting a contribution fee of up to 5 TL per 100 milliliters from sugary drinks, depending on their sugar content. For packaged snacks whose excessive consumption is not recommended, a deduction of 20 percent of the sales price is planned.
The resources to be provided by the fund are intended to be used for preventive health services and healthy living policies. In this context, school nutrition programs, the fight against childhood obesity, dental health screenings, sports infrastructure investments, and healthy living projects are shown as priority areas.
The draft also includes increasing the technical capacity of smoking cessation clinics, supporting nicotine treatments, and allocating resources for the early diagnosis, screening, and treatment processes of tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer and COPD.
The proposal draft, which is stated to have been completed by the Ministry of Health, is expected to take its final form after technical examinations to be conducted by the AKP group and come to the Parliament's agenda in the autumn period. If the regulation is enacted, the reflection of the contribution fee on the final prices of the relevant products may come to the agenda.