Tobacco.org

Smoking ban finds wide support among public 

In a response to the Health Ministry's calls for smokers' support for the upcoming blanket smoking ban in public places, Turks, including café owners, said they understand the reasoning for it and support the new legislation.

A simple survey done in the streets of the Turkish capital showed that the public is looking forward to seeing the smoking ban in force. Surprisingly, the owners of the coffeehouses that are going to be affected by the ban are also willing to go along with it. They have already converted their shops and stores to non-smoking places. Alaeddin Işıklı, 37, the owner of a patisserie, said that he saw the ban as a very beneficial event that would take Turkey one step further into the modern world. “We support the smoking ban, of course. It is very obvious that smoking is a harmful addiction to everybody. Of course we have some concerns about the decrease in the number of customers, but it has to be done in order to have a healthy Turkey,” he said.

Jump to full article »