Turks back tobacco ban
Ninety percent of Turks support the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants that will come into force this month, a poll has shown.
More than half the respondents also said they were concerned the July 19 ban would not be properly enforced, according to the poll of 600 people by Istanbul-based Quirk Global Strategies published today.
About 35 percent of all adult Turks smoke, including more than half the men in the country of 72 million. Philip Morris International Inc. and British American Tobacco Plc are among the companies that make cigarettes in Turkey. This month’s ban follows legislation in May 2008 that outlawed cigarettes in workplaces, shopping malls, schools and hospitals. Turkey’s government collects about $8.5 billion a year in taxes on tobacco products, and spends about half that amount treating smoking-related illnesses, Toker Ergüder, who runs the World Health Organization’s tobacco-control project in Turkey, said Thursday.
Copyright © 2009 Hurriyet
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