The World Health Organization (WHO) called for urgent action to control the use of electronic cigarettes in order to minimize the harm to public health. Experts said that the chemicals contained in electronic cigarettes, which are considered less harmful than cigarettes and whose use is increasingly widespread, are at least as harmful as those found in cigarette smoke, and stated that it is necessary to be determined instead of trying different methods to quit smoking.
‘CIGARETTE’ WARNING FROM EXPERTS
Stating that 2 billion people worldwide are addicted to cigarettes and other tobacco products, experts stated that according to the 2018-2023 Tobacco Control Plan, the number of smokers in Turkey is more than 15 million. In the statement, it was stated that at least 1 in every 4 people in the total population aged 15 and over in Turkey smokes; According to this rate, it was announced that approximately 20 million people are regular smokers.
According to the report of the European Union (EU) Statistical Office, the country with the most smoking in European countries is Bulgaria with 29 percent, while Turkey comes in second place with 27.3 percent. In the research, it was announced that the average smoking rate in EU countries was 18.4 percent.
While it was stated that the majority of smokers tried smoking during childhood and adolescence, it was noted that 70 percent of smokers started smoking regularly around the age of 18, and those who started smoking regularly increased their daily cigarette smoking significantly within a few years.
TURKEY IS FIRST IN THE WORLD IN AVERAGE DAILY CIGARETTE CONSUMPTIONS PER CAPITA WITH 17.1
Research has shown that Turkey ranks first in the world in the number of average daily cigarette consumption per capita, with 17.1. It was announced that this figure was 15.7 in Greece, 15.5 in Israel and 15.4 in Japan and Austria.
“THEY WORK LIKE A KILLING MACHINE”
In the statement, “Tobacco is the only product that kills the consumer and is legal for sale when used as recommended by the manufacturer. Multinational tobacco companies of developed countries make people sick by selling tobacco, and then increase their profits exponentially by selling drugs for these diseases. Therefore, the tobacco industry literally creates a system of exploitation. “These companies work like a killing machine, killing more people than wars.”