Turkey introduces tougher regulations on Sunday, which ban smoking in restaurants and bars, as well as advertisement for tobacco products and which introduce fines for a variety of new offences.
From Sunday, 19 July, people in Turkey will no longer be able to smoke in restaurants, cafés and bars. This is an additional ban to the previous ban on certain closed spaces that has been in place since last year.
Any person found to be smoking in a closed space will be fined TL 69 (EUR 32). In public services buildings or public transport, the civil servant responsible is authorised to hand out fines. In privately-run public transport, the first police or gendarmerie officer reached can hand out the punishment, and the same is true in private buildings.
Businesses that do not enforce the ban can be fined between TL 560 and TL 5,600 by municipal councils or the district or province administration. If the business is a public one, civil servants may be investigated by a disciplinary committee.
As for throwing cigarette stubs, packets, filters or similar waste onto the ground, the market police (zabita) is entitled to charge the offender TL 25. The Ministry of Health has set up a hotline for people to notify it of violations of the ban. In addition, there will be "smokefree air" contact centres in each province, a list of which has been published by the ministry.
The new legislation also foresees a ban of advertising, promotion and sponsorship for tobacco products and their companies. Violations of this ban can lead to penalties ranging from TL 56,000 to TL 280,000.
People producing, distributing or selling products that look like or call into mind tobacco products, such as chewing gum, sweets, nuts, toys, clothing, accessories, etc., can be fined between TL 22,400 and TL 112,000. Individuals wearing clothes or accessories that carry the names or logos of tobacco products or their companies can be fined TL 69.
The ban also forbids the sale of tobacco products in automats, on TV or via the Internet and bans the sale of single cigarettes or cigarettes divided into smaller packages. (pi)