12.02.2025 11:33
Upon the instruction of Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu, and in response to the increasing rates of tobacco use and requests from citizens, the Ministry's tobacco inspectors will conduct checks across 81 provinces using green detectors and cross-monitoring to ensure compliance with the smoking ban.
The Ministry of Health will conduct cigarette inspections in cafes and restaurants across Turkey with green detectors and cross-checking teams.
In a statement, the General Director of Public Health, Muhammed Emin Demirkol, said that inspections will be intensified in the fight against tobacco upon the instruction of Minister Memişoğlu. Demirkol also mentioned the ministry's efforts in combating smoking, stating that 1,100 certified physicians are working in 565 smoking cessation clinics.
"WORK IS CONTINUING FOR BOLU AND RIZE"
Demirkol noted that they are accelerating training to increase the number of certified physicians, saying, "Very soon, we will quickly complete our certification efforts related to quitting smoking in our two provinces, Bolu and Rize, and we will enable many volunteer physicians to have the opportunity to conduct this clinic."
Reminding that medications are provided free of charge to patients in smoking cessation clinics, Demirkol stated, "We want to carry out this service effectively and widely. We will quickly provide training to those who volunteer from our family health centers. We will ensure that they can conduct smoking cessation efforts in a certified manner within their registered population."
HEALTH PERSONNEL WILL WORK WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT
Demirkol explained that tobacco inspections are carried out under the coordination of the General Directorate of Public Health, and that health personnel conduct inspections together with law enforcement. He stated that they will increase cross-checking in line with the instructions of Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu and that they have sent letters to the provinces regarding this matter.
Regarding how cross-checking is conducted, Demirkol said, "Cross-checking refers to the system where qualified health personnel assigned from one province go to another province to conduct both routine inspections and on-site checks during complaint inspections. Within the same province, health personnel from different districts also go to another district with the support of law enforcement. We have sent our letters to the provinces to intensify and increase cross-checking both at the provincial and district levels."
"RECEIVED COMPLAINTS INDICATE THAT WE NEED TO INCREASE INSPECTIONS"
General Director of Public Health, Muhammed Emin Demirkol, expressed the desire for the sensitivity in the fight against smoking to continue without diminishing, stating: "The complaints, reports, and requests that come through the green detector system indicate that we need to increase our inspection sensitivity. The requests from our citizens through CİMER and SABİM highlight the need for strengthening this with cross-checking and supporting local dynamic controls in the provinces with cross-checking. We will also demonstrate this sensitivity locally in our provinces. Our data shows that cross-checking is more effective. We will continue to increase these inspections with the personnel we assign. As physicians, we see in our hospitals how passive smoking is as dangerous as active smoking, how harmful smoking is, and how severe its consequences are."
Demirkol stated that smoking leads to very serious consequences, from lung cancer to many diseases, saying, "We see how much destruction smoking causes both to the body and to the environment. We will continue our inspections without compromise."