Turkey's diehard smokers vow to defy ban

By Selcuk Gokoluk

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish smokers are vowing to defy a ban in bars and restaurants that will take effect next year, while anti-smoking campaigners accuse global cigarette companies of targeting the country as a key market.

Turkey is the eighth-biggest cigarette market in the world, where nearly 60 percent of male adults are estimated to smoke. Six global cigarette producers and state-run Tekel compete for a share of it.

The World Health Organisation says 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths will occur within a few decades in developing countries like Turkey, as consumption levels off or even falls in mature world markets. China alone accounts for one third of total cigarette consumption.

Anti-smoking campaigners hope Turkey's tobacco consumption will fall by at least 10 percent as a ban in public buildings is due to begin in May, and a wider ban including bars and restaurants takes effect in mid-2009.

The government hopes to change European Union candidate Turkey's image as a haven for smokers. "Smoking like a Turk" is a popular phrase used for heavy smokers in some Western countries.

A number of European countries including Italy, Britain and Ireland have outlawed smoking in public places.

Anyone lighting up inside a public place in Turkey will be fined 57 lira ($48), but businesses say implementation of the ban will be very difficult despite the fines.

"Pulling down the shutters is the only way to stop smoking here. Every one of our customers smokes," said Cengiz Erdogan, who runs a restaurant in Ankara, as he nods at the ceiling which has turned grey due to heavy smoke.

Despite the threat of a 5,000 lira fine on businesses which allow smoking, bars will be reluctant to stop smokers because they are fearful of losing more customers: the growing conservative middle-class is already increasingly shunning places where alcohol is served.

Islam prohibits alcoholic beverages and frowns on smoking.

Given that Turks' national drink, raki, is usually served with a second glass for water, Erdogan argued it will be particularly tricky for Turks to smoke outside as the law dictates: "You cannot go out with two glasses in one hand and a cigarette in another. This will interrupt conversations and spoil your night," he said.

GUINEA PIGS

Despite campaigns by anti-smoking groups, cigarette consumption in Turkey is rising by between a 1-1.5 percent a year, compared with four percent in China.

Anti-smoking groups say international cigarette companies in the past picked the Middle East as a key market and distributed free cigarettes to promote them. They say the ban will be the only way to prevent cigarettes' disastrous effects on society.

"The cigarette's impact on Turkey is worse than terror. Every year, 117,000 people die due to cigarettes and we lose $2.5 billion every year due to diseases caused by smoking," said Semsettin Toprak from the Turkish Temperance Society.