Türkiye deploys teams, mobile clinics in fight against tobacco

ANKARA

Türkiye has launched a nationwide initiative to combat tobacco use by deploying roving tobacco control teams and mobile smoking cessation clinics across all 81 provinces, bringing prevention, awareness and treatment directly to the public in city centers, villages and even factory zones.

According to information obtained from the Health Ministry, the program aims to raise awareness among tobacco users, encourage them to quit and immediately connect those willing to stop smoking with medical professionals.

The initiative combines fieldwork with mobile healthcare, offering accessible support for individuals seeking to overcome addiction.

The tobacco control teams operate under the ministry’s coordination and are present in public squares, parks, villages, industrial zones, university campuses, shopping malls and marketplaces. Their mission is to inform citizens about the dangers of tobacco and secondhand smoke, as well as to promote resources such as Smoke-Free Air Zone regulations, the 171 Quitline, the 184 reporting hotline and the “Green Detector” mobile application.

After the sessions, smokers are referred to either the Mobile Smoking Cessation Clinics or the national quitline, depending on their level of dependency.

In areas where teams are stationed, vehicles and portable facilities are set up to host physicians trained in tobacco addiction treatment. This allows individuals ready to quit to start their medical support process on the spot.      

The Health Ministry had launched a new nationwide campaign under the theme “Smoke-Free Türkiye.”

The campaign, introduced in the 16th year of the country's tobacco control efforts, is backed by a comprehensive action plan for 2024–2028, which focuses on raising awareness, providing support services and protecting especially young people from the harmful effects of tobacco products.

According to a 2023 study, 34.8 percent of Türkiye’s population aged 15 and over use tobacco products.