Erdoğan will be very angry about this! Turkey has reached the top of Europe

A striking study has been conducted regarding cigarettes, which President and AKP Chairman Erdoğan frequently criticizes for their use.

According to the examination, Turkey has reached the top among European Union countries with a 36 percent cigarette consumption rate.

According to the World Health Organization, cigarettes are the cause of death for 30 percent of men and 12 percent of women in Turkey. While cigarettes were advertised in the 1990s, tobacco was banned in all indoor areas except homes with Law No. 5727, published on January 19, 2008.

As a result of the campaigns launched against smoking, the smoking rate in Turkey decreased by an average of 32 percent between 2007-2008, and by 13.4 percent between 2008-2013.

Turkey has returned to square one in the fight against cigarettes, which President Erdoğan frequently criticizes and whose packs he takes away when he sees someone smoking.

According to the report titled “Addiction Economy: The Economic Cost of Tobacco, Alcohol, Gambling, and Drug Addiction in Turkey” prepared by the Turkish Green Crescent Society, cigarette production in Turkey has increased from 108 billion to 150 billion in the last 20 years. This 39 percent increase has drawn attention.

Prof. Dr. Toker Ergüder, a Public Health Specialist at the University of Health Sciences Gülhane Faculty of Medicine, had noted that the smoking rate among women in Turkey has increased by 40 percent in the last 10 years.

Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis Specialist Prof. Dr. Oğuz Kılınç also stated that 35 percent of the population over the age of 15 uses cigarettes, saying, “This is a record in the history of the Republic of Turkey.”

The increase in cigarette consumption has drawn attention, even as high taxes are frequently applied to cigarettes, two or three price hikes occur in a month, and plain packaging with warning visuals has been adopted.

According to the latest data published by the European Union Statistical Office, Eurostat, Turkey shares the top spot in cigarette consumption with Bulgaria and Greece at a rate of 36 percent based on the European average. It is followed by Croatia (35 percent) and Romania (29 percent). The lowest cigarette consumption rate was seen in Sweden at 8 percent.

On the other hand, according to 2021 OECD data, France had a smoking rate of 24 percent, Spain 19.8 percent, Germany 18.8 percent, Italy 18.6 percent, and the UK 15.8 percent.