Health Minister Recep Akdag told Parliament the government may introduce plain packaging for cigarettes next year and impose a display ban on those products in retail outlets, Xinhua news agency reported.

Cigarette logos would be removed, Akdag reportedly told legislators. Shopkeepers would be required to keep cigarette packs in closed cases, the news agency reported. Smoking has become more prevalent, making harsher measures necessary. The adult smoking rate, defined as persons older than 15, has risen to 27 per cent of the population from 23 per cent four years ago, Akdag reportedly said.