Electronic cigarettes are 'bizarre things' according to Erdogan
The Turkish government is following in India's footsteps. The October 1 the government announced that a total ban on e-cigarettes canbecome relevant in the country.
Turkey already has laws prohibiting the sale of vejp products, formally. However, the use of e-cigarettes is allowed in the same places where smoking is allowed.
"We will now also ban the entry of e-cigarettes into the country," Health Minister Farettin Koca told the newspaper Hurriyet Daily News
The Turkish government has long pursued an aggressive policy against tobacco smoking in the country. According to Ahval News magazine 14.5 million people smoke in Turkey, including 250 000 children. The Turkish Health Authority does not consider vejpning to be an alternative to cigarettes. And the President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan has earlier this year called e-cigarettes "bizarre".
"They have invented something as bizarre as 'an electronic cigarette' Companies say they contain no nicotine or very little. But they are addictive" Erdogan said according to Ahval News.
As previously reported by Vejpkollen, India will also ban e-cigarettes completely. Both countries have in common that a large part of the population smokes regular cigarettes. In Turkey, according to a 2011 WHO report, as many as 40% of men in the 25-44 age group smoke. And smoking is increasing overall, including among women.
The number of 1TP8 smokers who quit smoking with the help of e-cigarettes in Turkey is currently unclear.
