Turkey is the only country in the world which has enacted all six criteria advised by the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, says Mehmet Akif Seylan, an associate professor and vice president of Yesilay (Turkish Green Crescent).
Initiated in 2003 and signed by Turkey the very next year, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was signed by a total of 180 countries. The initiative presented a total of six criteria to be followed to get tobacco usage under control.
Vice President Seylan has said Turkey's fight against tobacco is a model to the rest of the world, highlighting that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was presented with an award by the WHO due to his success in the fight against tobacco use.
Seylan also offered insights to the deadly results of tobacco usage.
"Smoking not only puts the smoker in danger, but also the people around him or her. Every year, 75,000 children are dying from secondhand smoke. In Turkey, approximately 120,000 people are dying of diseases related to smoking," he said.
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