Right to Health above all Prof Elif Dal

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 2009 Tobacco 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 court Higher 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 22 nd 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 smoke ¡ Tobacco 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 smokefree ¡Turkey 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 sector ¡Hospitality 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.