Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu has called for stronger efforts to combat tobacco use, warning that smoking kills more than 100,000 people annually in Türkiye and that young people remain particularly vulnerable to the habit.
Speaking at the opening of Alaplı State Hospital in Zonguldak, northwestern Türkiye, on Monday, Memişoğlu said Türkiye needed to prioritize disease prevention alongside treatment, stressing that protecting public health required tackling risks before they developed into illnesses.
“Health is a person's greatest wealth. Protecting this wealth is possible not only by treating diseases but also by preventing the risks that cause them before they emerge,” he said.
Memişoğlu said Türkiye ranked second worldwide in smoking prevalence, adding that approximately one-third of the population, or 33%, used tobacco. He also highlighted the risks facing children and adolescents, noting that more than half of tobacco users in the country began smoking before the age of 18.
According to the minister, 73.3% of children aged 13 to 15 who smoke can purchase cigarettes without undergoing age verification, underscoring the need for stronger safeguards to prevent minors from accessing tobacco products.
He also warned against electronic cigarettes and disposable vaping products, commonly known as puffs, saying they were marketed to young people under different names and packaging despite carrying serious health risks.
“We must not regard any of them as an innocent habit. We want to protect our children from this danger,” he said, emphasizing the importance of an electronic age-verification system for tobacco sales.
Memişoğlu said a survey by the Turkish Green Crescent Society (Yeşilay) showed that 90% of respondents supported the proposed system, while 80% of smokers wanted to quit.
Türkiye sold 150 billion banderol-stamped cigarettes in 2024, the minister added, calling for a stronger collective effort involving families, educators, civil society organizations, businesses and public institutions.
He also highlighted the country's smoking cessation services, saying the Health Ministry operated 1,910 smoking cessation clinics nationwide and offered online appointments through the Central Physician Appointment System (MHRS).
Medication used in smoking cessation treatment is provided free of charge to eligible patients when deemed appropriate by their doctors, he said. The Alo 171 Smoking Cessation Counseling Hotline also operates seven days a week, offering guidance and follow-up support.
Memişoğlu said the government supported anyone seeking to overcome tobacco addiction, regardless of their social security status, and urged smokers not to postpone their decision to quit.
Beyond tobacco control, Memişoğlu stressed the importance of preventive health care, urging people to make physical activity part of their daily routines and address risks associated with excess weight, inactivity and tobacco use.
He said family physicians played a growing role in monitoring patients with chronic conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and heart disease. They can also arrange specialist appointments and share patient information with hospital physicians through digital infrastructure, he added.
Memişoğlu said Türkiye was continuing to expand its health care infrastructure, pointing to investments in Zonguldak since 2002 that included 15 hospitals and 17 health centers. The province's total hospital bed capacity has reached 2,335, while more than 680 physicians and 163 other health care personnel have been added over the past two years, he said.
Seven additional health facilities are under construction across the province, alongside hospital projects with 150 beds in central Zonguldak and 25 beds in Kilimli.
The minister also highlighted efforts to develop domestically produced medicines, vaccines and medical devices, citing research at Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University into new drug molecules for cancer treatment and systems capable of detecting airborne viruses.
