Smoking ban shows results in Turkey
By IANSFriday, July 16, 2010
ISTANBUL - A ban on smoking in public places in Turkey has shown great results, after the nation’s largest city Istanbul reported a 20 percent drop in the number of patients admitted in hospitals for smoking-related illnesses.
On July 19, 2009, Turkey went smoke-free as the government introduced a smoking ban in bars, cafes, restaurants and other public places. Those who break the ban were threatened with a fine about $45.
After one year of enforcing the ban, the number of patients checking into emergency rooms for smoking-related health complications has decreased by 20 percent, a report by the Istanbul health department and Marmara University Medical School said.
This drop has saved at least of 2.9 million Turkish Lira ($1.9 million) in medicine costs, Ali Ihsan Dokucu, director of the Istanbul health department, was quoted as saying by Xinhua. “This is concrete proof of the success of the smoking ban.”
Elif Bagli, president of the Cigarettes and Health National Committee said compared to the first five months of 2009, 363 million less packets of cigarettes were sold during the same period in 2010. There was also a 30 percent reduction in heart attacks, she said.
