Türkiye’s Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said that smoking remains one of the country’s most serious public health challenges, with nearly one in three people using tobacco. Speaking in Ankara, he called for urgent action to reduce smoking rates and said Türkiye should no longer rank among Europe’s heaviest-smoking nations.
Memişoğlu said Türkiye is among the world’s top three countries for lung cancer cases, and stressed that most smokers want to quit and outlined expanded government efforts, including free smoking cessation services, mobile clinics in public spaces, and counseling and medication offered through family health and healthy life centers.
The minister also highlighted broader investments in preventive healthcare, including the expansion of family health centers and healthy life centers focused on early diagnosis, screenings, and lifestyle guidance.
