Tobacco.org

Turkey goes smoke-free with indoor smoking ban 

Turkey went smoke-free Sunday joining most European Union states as the government introduced a ban in bars, cafes and restaurants in hopes of breaking the national addiction to nicotine despite the protests of business owners.

Yet Turkey, an aspirant EU member and the world's 10th country in tobacco consumption, said health reasons propelled the ban which was strongly by tobacco hater Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and came into effect at midnight as businesses removed ashtrays forcing smokers to go out for a smoke.

" People spend $15 to $20 billion to buy cigarettes each year "

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