Heavy penalties are on the way for those selling electronic cigarettes and distilling alcohol.

The government has taken action to prevent unregistered and smuggled tobacco and alcohol, as well as the increasingly popular electronic cigarettes among young people. The ruling party, AK Party, is working on new sanctions and will present its prepared bill to the Parliament in the coming days.

UP TO 6 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT FOR ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES

Accordingly, those who produce, sell, offer for sale, possess, and transport any products, including electronic cigarettes and electronic hookahs, as well as the electronic devices, components, spare parts, and solutions used in the consumption of these products for commercial purposes within the country will face imprisonment of three to six years.

WARNING LABELS WILL ALSO BE ON CIGARETTE PAPER AND CIGARETTE ROLLING PAPER

According to a report in the Türkiye newspaper, it will be mandatory to have pictorial and Turkish written warnings on rolling papers at a rate of 85%, just like on cigarette packages. This figure has been set at 65% for cigarette paper and filters. Those who violate these rules will be fined 50,000 lira.

SEVERE PENALTIES FOR SELLING TO UNDER 18s

Those who sell tobacco and hookah to individuals under 18 and commit the same offense three times within five years will have their tobacco sales license or hookah presentation license revoked. Their businesses will be closed for two years. Those who use ethyl alcohol for purposes other than trade will face fines of up to 100,000 lira. Additionally, a fine of 1 million lira is being considered for those who mix flavors with ethyl alcohol. Even for personal consumption, those who illegally distill to increase the alcohol content may face up to three years of imprisonment.

10 MILLION LIRA FINE FOR BUSINESSES NOT INSTALLING THE ELECTRONIC SYSTEM

Businesses that do not install the electronic systems required in alcohol and alcoholic beverage facilities, those who tamper with the seals applied under the system, those who prevent the transmission of data that should be communicated by intervening physically or digitally in the system, or those who transmit this data in a misleading manner, as well as those who do not conduct the trade of alcohol and alcoholic beverages through the electronic system provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, will face an administrative fine of 10 million lira. If the offense is repeated within five years, the documents related to production and import activities will be revoked.