Türkiye is preparing legislation that would prohibit people born after Jan. 1, 2015, from using or selling tobacco products throughout their lives, according to Professor Toker Ergüder, who is involved in drafting the proposal. The Health Ministry has been preparing the legislation for about a year and is expected to submit it to Parliament in October. The draft would also tighten smoking restrictions in indoor and outdoor public spaces, introduce new cigarette packaging rules, eliminate slim cigarettes, and prohibit smoking in restaurant areas, while designated smoking areas would be established in parks and public-building grounds. The proposal also includes a longer-term plan to prohibit tobacco production and sales in Türkiye from 2040. Ergüder said annual cigarette sales increased from about 91,000 tons, or 4.5 billion packs, in 2012 to approximately 160,000 tons, or 8 billion packs, in 2025.
Tag: Turkiye
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Surveys Show Strong Support for Tobacco Controls in Türkiye
Surveys by Turkish Green Crescent (Yeşilay) found broad support for proposed tobacco-control measures focused on protecting children and young people from tobacco and nicotine use. The digital survey included 1,461 participants, while 5,481 people participated in a face-to-face survey conducted across Türkiye’s seven regions. In the digital survey, 91.4% supported new regulations aimed at protecting young people from tobacco and nicotine addiction.
Support for a proposed “Tobacco-Free Generation” policy, which would prohibit tobacco sales to people born in 2015 or later, reached 89.3% in the digital survey and 83.2% in the field survey. Meanwhile, 84.5% supported limiting the visibility of tobacco products at points of sale, 89.6% backed stronger restrictions on tobacco products on digital platforms, and 91.6% favored measures to reduce tobacco use and visibility in public spaces. Respondents also widely viewed newer nicotine products as harmful, with 96.3% describing e-cigarettes as harmful, compared with 92.9% for disposable vapes, and 91.5% for heated tobacco products. Yeşilay President Mehmet Dinç said the organization supports the Health Ministry’s proposed tobacco-control measures, emphasizing regulation rather than a ban and calling for legislation to advance through Parliament.
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Turkiye Limits Tax Hikes on Tobacco, Fuel, Alcohol
Türkiye will limit Special Consumption Tax (SCT) increases on tobacco products in the first half of 2026, applying a 7.95% hike instead of the usual adjustment tied to producer inflation, which was close to 10%. Under the presidential decree published in the Official Gazette, the per-pack excise tax on cigarettes will rise by ₺1.28 ($0.03) to ₺56.78 ($1.31). The move departs from Türkiye’s standard practice of revising tobacco taxes twice a year in line with the domestic producer price index and is intended to ease consumer price pressures.
Tobacco remains a major source of tax revenue in Türkiye, with more than 19 million smokers spending over $16 billion annually on cigarettes. From January to November 2025, tobacco generated ₺396.4 billion ($11.1 billion) in SCT revenue, accounting for a large share of the ₺1.01 trillion ($23.2 billion) collected from fuel, tobacco, and alcohol combined. The Treasury and Finance Ministry said the moderated tax increase supports the government’s 2026 inflation targets while remaining consistent with revenue projections in the central government budget.
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Tobacco Workers Strike in Western Turkiye
Failed contract talks have left hundreds of workers at three tobacco factories in Turkiye’s western İzmir province on strike, demanding higher wages and better benefits. Union leaders accused employers of offering unrealistic proposals and favoring subcontractors.
At the beginning of this week, 600 workers at Sunel Tobacco, 800 workers at Oriental Tobacco, and 300 workers from T.T.L. Tobacco, all organized under the Tekgıda-İş Union, halted production.
Tekgıda-İş İzmir No. 7 Branch President Ömer Atabey said there were separate negotiations, but the three factories acted together. “They keep telling us, ‘If the collective agreement is settled at one, it will be settled at all.’ We responded, ‘If you employers have united, then we workers at the three factories have united too.’ We put this decision into action for the benefit of our members, and we will continue our struggle until we receive the wages and social rights we demand,” he said.
“They are trying to stall us by offering only a 2% or 4% welfare increase above inflation,” Atabey said. “The three employers are acting together and trying to impose terms on us. We responded to this with worker solidarity. We decided to strike at the start of the second sixty-day period, without waiting for the end. That’s because there is a huge gap between our demands and their offers. They are not objective, they are not realistic.”
Atabey also said employers paid subcontractors up to 2,000 liras ($55). “But they are unwilling to offer similar wages to their own workers. This was one of the biggest breaking points for the workers. The employers are not objective or realistic,” he said.
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KT&G Opens Expanded Plant in Turkiye
South Korea’s leading tobacco company, KT&G, announced the completion of additional manufacturing facilities in Turkiye as part of a strategy to solidify its position as a global top-tier company. This is part of the company’s 2023 initiative to increase global sales by 50%.
The expansion in Turkiye added two new production facilities to the factory, increasing its total ground area by approximately 50% to 25,000 square meters. With the upgrades, the company’s four facilities can now produce up to 12 billion cigarettes annually, enabling KT&G to meet growing demand in North Africa and Latin America.
“By strengthening our production capabilities in Turkiye, we are taking significant steps toward becoming an unmatched global leader,” KT&G’s CEO Bang Kyung-man said in a statement. “We will continue to focus on our three core businesses while enhancing our competitive edge.”
KT&G has been expanding its global footprint since establishing its first overseas factory in Turkiye in 2008. The company is currently working on additional projects, including new factories in Indonesia and a facility in Kazakhstan, set to be completed this year.
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Tobacco Firm Fined $181 Million in Turkey
Credit: Olga Demina The Turkish tax inspection authority has issued a record fine of 6 billion Turkish Liras ($181.2 million) to a tobacco manufacturer for unreported revenue. This is part of a comprehensive audit of large taxpayers by the Treasury and Finance Ministry.
In accordance with Minister Mehmet Şimşek’s principle of “taxing the wealthy more,” inspectors from the Tax Audit Board have been conducting ongoing audits. They have started thorough tax inspections using the “yield analysis” method to determine the actual production output of businesses.
This method involves analyzing the materials used in manufacturing, other production inputs, finished goods, and outputs that should have been produced. As a result, a yield analysis and inventory audit were carried out for a company involved in tobacco production.
The calculations considered the capacity and operational hours of the cigarette production lines, along with the company’s consumption data for natural gas, tobacco, and cigarette filters. The audit results revealed that the company had generated unreported revenue, according to media reports.
Certain documents within the company were not included in the legal ledger records and declarations. Moreover, the authorities determined that excise and value-added taxes on the cigarettes, despite being invoiced, were not reflected in the declarations.
After the audit, the company was fined around 6 billion Liras, and the amount is expected to increase due to late payment interest. The minister announced that tax inspectors have started simultaneous inspections of 707 jewelers in nine major cities.
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Turkiye: Thousands of Cigarettes Seized
Image: HENADZY Turkish police seized more than 600,000 packs of cigarettes and 53 e-cigarettes in a smuggling case in Agri, according to 2Firsts.
Three suspects were arrested as a result of the case.
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Turkiye Expands Ban on Selling Tobacco
Image: ubonwanu Turkiye has expanded the scope of its ban on serving and selling tobacco and alcohol products, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Sales of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages are banned on all premises of health, education and cultural and sports facilities. The ban does not apply to points of sale in accommodation, recreational and camping areas, however.