Right to Health above all !

Prof Elif Dağlı

Chair, National Coalition on Tobacco or Health

SSUK (Sigara ve Sağlık Ulusal Komitesi)

THREE NATURAL RIGHTS(John Locke)

Life: everyone is entitled to live once they are created.

Liberty: everyone is entitled to do anything they want to so long as it doesn't conflict with the first right.

Estate: everyone is entitled to own all they create or gain through gift or trade so long as it doesn't conflict with the first two rights.

Turkey goes smokefree in July 2009Tobacco industry through hospitality sector

opposes the legislation with the arguments:

Smoking is a human right, individual freedoms are limited.

Trading is a human right, trade is negatively affected.

Smoker’s Rights Groups (SRG) of Tobacco Industry

Since 1979, the tobacco industry has created or planned SRGs in at least 26 countries worldwide

Philip Morris proposed adopting a variety of personas:

‘sometimes we will need to speak as independent scientists, scientific groups and businessmen; at other times we will talk as the industry; and, finally, we will speak as the smoker.’

Coffee house owners apply to higher courtHigher court decides to convey the claim to the

constitutional court declaring that the legislation:

Prohibiting the rights of smokers

Damaging the right of trading

Being unrespectful to the long tradition of coffee-houses

Ignoring the possibility of designated smoking areas

SSUK (National Coalition)Organized a workshop on 22nd July 2010 about

“Constitutional freedoms and right to health”

Right to health is above all constitutional rights

Right to life is the first right, and has priority

When the rights conflict, justice system chooses the one with priority

Smoking right can not be used as a freedom to harm others

Tobacco Control is a priority for Turkey Annually 100 thousand people die due to smoking

Two thirds of men and one third of women above the age of 16 are smokers

60 % of smokers start before 18 years of age

Before the smoke-free legislation 10 947 000 people were being exposed to tobacco smoke in public places.

50 million dollars are spent each day to buy cigarettes which adds up to 20 billion dollars in a year.

People with lowest income pay 1/7 of their income to cigarettes

.

No ventilation technique can clear tobacco smokeTobacco smoke is a scientifically proven

carsinogen

The ones exposed develop heart disease and lung cancer

ASHRAE 2008 report “the only effective method of protecting people is complete smoking ban”

Ventilation systems are not effective in clearing the particles of tobacco smoke

In case of designated smoking areas the air has to be exchanged 122 500 times which is equivalent to a turnedo.

FCTC requıres smokefreeTurkey had signed the “Framework

Convention on Tobacco Control” in 2004. 

Turkey had implemented FCTC as a law.

FCTC article 8 requires smokefree public places

Health and economy benefitted from the legislation

In January-May 2010 Turks smoked 20% less and earned 1.2 billion dollars.

In Istanbul emergency admissions decreased by 20% with a reduction of 4 million dollar medical expense.

Smoke-free helped the hositality sectorHospitality sector has shown 5.2 % income

increase 3 months after the legislation.

Ministry of Finance records did not show reduction in taxes payed, reported sale and number of employees.