Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ (above) said Sunday that authorities had ways to track narcotics in the country, and that there will be a new system installed to track narcotic content in the waste waters of metropolitan cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Adana. The analysis of the waste water in Adana began and would eventually cover other cities, he added.

The amount of drugs seized in Turkey was larger than the amount seized in all of Europe, he said at a news program on CNN-Türk, arguing that this showed how successful the Turkish police were in combatting drug trafficking.

"By analyzing waste water, we are tracking the users. Through this, we will be able to track the efficiency and success rate of our anti-narcotics programs," said Akdağ.

He said synthetic drugs in Turkey mostly came from Eastern Europe, calling on the authorities there to be as conscientious as their Turkish counterparts when it came to combatting drugs.

He also called on addicts to call the 191 hotline. "In addition to this hotline, there are the Health Ministry's AMATEM centers. These centers follow those who apply through three- or nine-month programs."

He noted that the government had amended the law to ensure these centers were not obligated to alert the police when an addict applied to them. "Even if the police find out, addicts who seek help are given probation."

Akdağ, who served as the health minister for 11.5 years in in successive Justice and Development Party (AK Party) governments, and who was appointed as the deputy prime minister by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, said 31 percent of Turkey's population over the age of 15 smoke cigarettes. "It was 32 percent in the past and our campaigns had dropped it to 27 percent. Now it is at 31 percent. Additional measures are needed. We have to control nicotine addiction."

Smoking came third as the biggest health hazard in Turkey, only after obesity and immobility, Akdağ said. "Our anti-smoking laws are among the best in the world," and inspections need to be increased in frequency, he said. The nicotine industry started to promote smoking by hiring famous people from the medical field, culture and arts, and even the Armed Forces, he said, adding that there were efforts to promote so-called "harmless cigarettes" like electronic cigarettes, or slims. "There can be no harmless cigarettes. Everything that contains nicotine is harmful," he said.

Akdağ also said cigarettes should be seen as a gateway drug. "Not every smoker starts using cannabis or heroin. But, you can be sure that, every cannabis user starts by smoking."

Tens of thousands of people have died every year in Turkey from smoking-induced diseases, Akdağ said, adding they need to tackle the problem head-on through more effective measures.