Cigarette prices and smoking prevalence after a tobacco tax increase--Turkey, 2008 and 2012.

Raising the price of tobacco products has been shown to reduce tobacco consumption in the United States and other high-income countries, and evidence of this impact has been growing for low- and middle-income countries as well. Turkey is a middle-income country surveyed by the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) twice in a 4-year period, in 2008 and 2012. During this time, the country introduced a policy raising its Special Consumption Tax on Tobacco and implemented a comprehensive tobacco control program banning smoking in public places, banning advertising, and introducing graphic health warnings. The higher tobacco tax took effect in early 2010, allowing sufficient time for subsequent changes in prices and smoking to be observed by the time of the 2012 GATS. This report uses data from GATS Turkey to examine how cigarette prices changed after the 2010 tax increase, describe the temporally associated changes in smoking prevalence, and learn whether this smoking prevalence changed more in some demographic groups than others. From 2008 to 2012, the average price paid for cigarettes increased by 42.1%, cigarettes became less affordable, and smoking prevalence decreased by 14.6%. The largest reduction in smoking was observed among persons with lower socioeconomic status (SES), highlighting the potential role of tax policy in reducing health disparities across socioeconomic groups.

Substance Use in Refugee Camps and Local Community: Sanliurfa Sample.

INTRODUCTION: Although substance use has increased in recent years in Turkey, it is still lower than in other European countries. Turkey is home to the largest Syrian refugee population. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and substance use among local people living in city centers and refugees living in refugee camps in Sanliurfa. METHODS: The study was based on a cross-sectional epidemiologic survey conducted with a total of 6041 people, 4040 (67%) from camps and 2001 (33%) from districts. Face-to-face interviews were accompanied by local interviewers or interpreters who spoke Arabic, and a survey form used in our country for drug addiction screening was used. According to the number of samples selected, households with proportional distribution were chosen from the districts, which were selected from the address based from Turkish Statistical Institute. In the refugee camps, interviews were conducted in tents selected using a random numbers table according to the number of samples. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of tobacco use was 22.3% (n=902) in the camps, whereas in the districts this rate was 33.5% (n=670). The lifetime prevalence of alcohol use was found as 0.2% in the camps and 3.5% in the districts. The lifetime prevalence of substance use was found as 2.6% in the camps and 4.3% in the districts. The most commonly used substance type was cannabis. Some 45.7% of the people who used a substance in the camps were male and 54.3% were female. In districts, these rates were 64.4% and 35.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Alcohol and substance use rates are low in Turkey compared with most countries in the world. Substance use in the city center is higher than in refugee camps in Sanliurfa. Substance use is a significant mental health problem that concerns every community including refugees. Identifying characteristics and attitudes related to substance use may help to improve policies regarding protective measures.

Multisectoral action on drug dependence in Turkey: applying a whole-of-government approach

The use of substances that produce dependence has become a severe and worldwide health problem. Substancedependence is not only a health issue; it also has public, social, legal and governmental aspects. For this reason, antidrugefforts need to be multidirectional. Protection of people who has not yet met with drugs (particularly teenagers)and people with drug use but not yet dependence can be ensured by developing effective policies. For that purpose,under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister and under the coordination of Ministry of Health, and with the highlevel participation of other 7 related Ministries a holistic and high level multidisciplinary approach is adopted withinthe scope of Anti-Drug Emergency Action Plan in Turkey. Priority objective of all these efforts is to ensure effectiveimplementation, sustainability of prevention and protection activities. This study summarizes strategies and supply,demand and communication policies developed with high level determination and institutional cooperation within thescope of Anti-Drug Emergency Action Plan.