Türkiye's government is drafting new tobacco legislation that would introduce age verification at the point of sale for cigarettes, Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu said on Oct. 10. Speaking to state broadcaster TRT Haber, the minister said the bill is expected to reach parliament within a few weeks.
The central aim of the age checks is to enforce the existing ban on selling tobacco products to anyone under 18. Alongside this, the draft is designed to make tobacco products less visible in everyday life, spell out more clearly where smoking is allowed and strengthen penalties for breaking the rules.
Clearer rules for cafes and public spaces
According to the minister, the bill would bring tighter limits around schools, sports areas and indoor public spaces. It would also draw firmer lines between smoking and nonsmoking sections in cafes and restaurants. Memişoğlu noted that nonsmokers sometimes end up in the less comfortable parts of a venue, and said obligations for both businesses and smokers would be defined more precisely.
He framed the approach as one that seeks to encourage people to give up smoking voluntarily by reducing tobacco's presence in daily life, rather than relying solely on bans and fines.
The minister put tobacco use at around a third of Türkiye's population. He said smoking rates climbed again after gains made in the early 2010s, particularly among young people and women, following a period of weaker enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing his own figures, he said about 8 billion packs of cigarettes were sold in the country in 2025, and estimated the related turnover at between $20 billion and $30 billion. He also referred to a study by the Turkish Green Crescent Society (Yeşilay) which found that 80 percent of respondents in Türkiye want to quit smoking.
Privacy concerns prompt a rethink on ID checks
Early reports that buyers might have to present their Turkish identification numbers drew criticism over the handling of personal data. On Oct. 11, Memişoğlu responded in a post on the social media platform NSosyal, saying the government's priority was to stop tobacco sales to children under 18.
He said all options are being assessed, including electronic age-verification systems that protect personal information and are simple to put into practice. The final mechanism had not been announced at the time of writing.
Memişoğlu described tobacco use as a preventable public health problem that weighs on society as a whole, not just a matter of personal choice, and said nonsmokers have a right to clean air. The ministry says work on rules for smoking in public and social spaces is continuing.
The details of the bill may change before it is submitted, and any new rules would only take effect once approved by parliament and published in the Official Gazette.
Sources
- Türkiye to require ID checks for cigarette sales, health minister says – Türkiye Today
- Türkiye weighs privacy safeguards in planned tobacco sales bill – Daily Sabah
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
