16.08.2026 10:00
Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu explained the factors causing death in Turkey, saying, "Over 50 percent of deaths are caused by circulatory system diseases and tumors. Respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and larynx cancer account for 30 percent of these. What do you think are the reasons? Smoking. Smoking is one of the most important causes of illness and death among our people in Turkey. In our country, 46 percent of men smoke."
Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu said, "According to the bulletin published by TÜİK last month, our average life expectancy in Turkey has become 78.5, meaning it has increased. What was it? It was 72 in 2002. Last year it was 78.1. This is actually one of the success parameters of the healthcare system in the world. In other words, the longer you live, the better your healthcare system is."
Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu met with press members in Istanbul. Memişoğlu, who explained the studies within the Ministry of Health, answered the questions of the press members. In addition to Minister Memişoğlu, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, Istanbul Provincial Health Director Abdullah Emre Güner, and USHAŞ General Manager Serdar Şenol attended the program.
"AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY IN TURKEY ROSE TO 78.5" Referring to the success parameters of the healthcare system in the world, Minister Memişoğlu said, "According to the bulletin published by TÜİK last month, our average life expectancy in Turkey has become 78.5, meaning it has increased. What was it? It was 72 in 2002. Last year it was 78.1. This is actually one of the success parameters of the healthcare system in the world. In other words, the longer you live, the better your healthcare system is. Look at infant mortality rates. In 2002, infant mortality was 31.5 per thousand births, while today it has decreased to 7.8. It was 9 per thousand in 2024 and decreased to 7.8 per thousand in 2025, meaning about 1.2. This shows that 3 thousand more babies survived this year. 3 thousand babies is not a small number. We have reduced the maternal mortality rate at birth. The success of your healthcare system is measured by these in the OECD."
"SMOKING IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CAUSES OF ILLNESS AND DEATH FOR OUR PEOPLE" Referring to the health risks experienced in Turkey, Memişoğlu said, "34.7 percent of deaths are due to circulatory system diseases, and 16 percent are due to benign and malignant tumors. In other words, over 50 percent of the causes of death are circulatory system diseases and tumors. Ischemic heart disease constitutes 42 percent of circulatory system diseases, and respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and laryngeal cancer constitute 30 percent of benign and malignant tumors. So, what do you think are the reasons for this? What is the cause of our causes of death such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, circulatory disease, and lung cancer? Smoking. Smoking is one of the most important causes of illness and death for our people in Turkey. 46 percent of men in our country smoke. We are second in the world, and our place among the top three changes. Smoking is a bad habit, everyone knows it. We say nothing will happen to us, but it does. We regret it after it happens. Last year, the sale of 8 billion packs of cigarettes in Turkey is not right. We need to motivate people not to use it. We need to increase people's demand for health."
"WEIGHT IS ANOTHER HEALTH RISK FOR US" Memişoğlu said, "The main causes of diseases that constitute over 50 percent of our causes of death are smoking, physical inactivity, and weight. Weight is another health risk for us. We are talking about a society where almost 30 percent has turned into morbid obesity, and the reasons for this are lifestyle, stress, and eating habits. In the 2000s, approximately one in three people in Turkey lived in rural areas. In other words, while it was a society where 30 percent of the population lived in villages and rural areas, today only 6.6 out of 100 people live in rural areas. This actually shows that lifestyle has changed, but eating habits are not changing. Eating habits are still with heavy meals in the morning, noon, and evening; we have also added fast food to them; it has worsened. There is also limited movement in the city. You move more with vehicles. As a result, you don't walk, you don't exercise. Now, we are working on these issues. We will change these habits of society. You, members of the media, have a great influence on this. We will create this awareness and culture together in society. I say it again: I think we need to create the demand for health in society rather than the demand for treatment. I ask for your support on this issue."
"MORE THAN 30 THOUSAND PEOPLE IN TURKEY ARE CURRENTLY WAITING FOR ORGAN TRANSPLANTS" Also touching on the importance of organ donation, Memişoğlu said, "We have difficulty finding cadaveric organ donations for organ transplantation. We made a change with the law regarding organ transplantation. Now, organ donation can be made through e-Government and e-Pulse. The number of donations has reached 250 thousand so far. With this law, we turned organ donation into a will for the individual. The person says, 'I donate my organs after I die.' They do this through the system, and we ask this person: 'Should your relatives know?' If they say 'No, they shouldn't know,' we don't tell anyone the moment they say it. When you make an organ donation through e-Pulse, no one else knows that you made that donation. Until when don't they know? When brain death is detected and death is declared, at the moment the Death Notification System is entered in the hospital, both your family, your doctor, and the organ transplant teams are notified. Until then, no one knows that you made a donation. More than 30 thousand people in Turkey are currently waiting for organ transplants. We need to ensure that organ donation is done through e-Government and increase the number of organ donations. Our country is one of the exemplary countries in the world in terms of organ centers, medicine, and infrastructure."