Erdogan says he will never allow vaping

ANKARA, Oct 21, (Agencies): Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday he will never allow electronic cigarette companies to produce their products in Turkey, urging Turks to drink tea instead.

Speaking at an event against smoking in Istanbul, Erdogan said he had ordered his Trade Minister “never” to allow e-cigarettes in Turkey and said that tobacco companies were “getting rich by poisoning” people.

“They asked us for a place and permission to produce these (ecigarettes). We didn’t give it to them and we will not,” he said, without saying which firm or firms he was referring to.

“They want to invest in Turkey... Go and make your investment elsewhere.”

Around 27% percent of Turkey’s total population aged over 15 smoked cigarettes in 2016, according to World Health Organization data, down from around 31% in 2010, with males making up the majority of smokers.

While vaping is not illegal in Turkey, purchasing or distributing e-cigarettes is. Despite this, many people procure e-cigarettes through online distributors, which also provide the liquid to put in the machines.

Erdogan, a pious Muslim known for his dislike of alcohol and cigarettes, has often urged Turks to quit smoking and drinking. In 2013, his government banned all advertisements, promotions and sponsorships of alcohol and tobacco products in Turkey. Such products are frequently blurred out in television shows.

“Let’s put down cigarettes and drink our Rize tea,” Erdogan said on Sunday, referring to tea from his hometown in the Black Sea region. “I don’t make many suggestions, but as a president, I am telling those I love that this is haram (forbidden in Islam).”

Vaping, which is widely viewed as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, is largely unregulated. However, several countries including Australia, Brazil, India and Japan have recently banned or limited aspects of the e-cigarette market, while the United States has announced plans to remove flavoured e-cigarettes from stores.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in US has announced that up to 1,479 lung injury cases associated with the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products have been reported across the nation. The CDC, in a statement late on Thursday, indicated that 33 deaths have been confirmed in 24 states, where all patients have reported “a history of using e-cigarette, or vaping, products.”

“Since the specific causes or causes of lung injury are not yet known, the only way to assure that you are not at risk while the investigation continues is to consider refraining from use of all e-cigarette, or vaping, products,” the CDC warned.

It added that at this time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC have “not identified the cause or causes of the lung injuries in these cases, and the only commonality among all cases is that patients report the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products.”

It affirmed that “many different substances and product sources are still under investigation, as the specific chemical exposure(s) causing lung injuries associated with e-cigarette product use, or vaping, remains unknown at this time.”

“Case counts continue to increase and new cases are being reported, which makes it more difficult to determine the cause or causes of this outbreak,” the CDC noted.