October 2026 — Forty-five national and international organizations sent a sign-on letter urging the Government of Türkiye to ensure that proposed tobacco control legislation advances public health without weakening existing protections.
Read the full sign-on letter to the Government of Türkiye here>
The letter responds to reports that Türkiye is preparing a major overhaul of its tobacco law, potentially for parliamentary consideration before the end of 2026.
Although the full draft legislation has not been made public, according to Türkiye Gazetesi, provisions include a ban on tobacco sales beginning in 2040, stronger restrictions on tobacco product displays, electronic age verification, and expanded smoke-free protections in outdoor public spaces. These measures could represent significant progress toward ending the tobacco epidemic.
However, the proposal also reportedly includes provisions allowing designated smoking rooms in certain establishments. This would be a concerning reversal of Türkiye’s 100% smoke-free indoor protections, in place since 2009.
The signatories support ambitious tobacco control measures while calling on the government to preserve the existing indoor smoking ban and release the complete legislative draft and its explanatory memorandum for public review.
They also urge officials to disclose who has been consulted during the drafting process, publish records of interactions with the tobacco industry, and exclude tobacco industry representatives from policymaking in accordance with Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
The situation presents both an opportunity and a risk: Türkiye could strengthen protections against tobacco addiction and move toward ending commercial tobacco sales, but it must not trade established smoke-free protections for new exemptions.
The organizations emphasize that civil society and public health experts must have a meaningful opportunity to contribute before the legislation advances.