Leader tells Turks to quit smoking, but local tea goes down nicely with the president

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is urging citizens of Turkey, which has a long tradition of heavy tobacco use, to forgo smoking and instead enjoy a cup of local tea.

Mr Erdogan, a pious Muslim known for his dislike of alcohol and cigarettes, has often urged Turks to quit both.

Despite this, he said on Sunday that he will never allow e-cigarettes – believed by some to be a tool for those trying to kick the habit – to be produced in Turkey.

“They asked us for a place and permission to produce these [e-cigarettes]. We didn’t give it to them and we will not. Go and make your investment elsewhere,” he said at an antismoking event in Istanbul.

“Let’s put down cigarettes and drink our Rize tea,” he said. Tea leaves grown in Rize, Mr Erdogan’s ancestral Black Sea homeland, are used to produce Turkish tea, or cay.

“I don’t make many suggestions, but as a president, I am telling those I love that this [smoking] is haram,” Mr Erdogan said.

The Turkish leader said tobacco companies were “getting rich by poisoning” people.

Turks are among the top 10 largest tea-consuming nations, according to the United Nations, ahead of Ireland, the UK and Morocco.

Before the country’s local elections in March, Mr Erdogan gave 200-gram packs of black tea to supporters, throwing them to the crowd while on the campaign trail. But he was criticised for handing out black tea when his wife, Emine Erdogan, is said to boast of drinking white tea at $2,000 (Dh7,345) a kilogram.

According to pro-government media, the president has an almost miraculous ability to convince people to quit smoking.

In 2016, it was claimed that he talked former Bulgarian foreign minister Daniel Mitov into giving up. Mr Erdogan is also known for confiscating packs of cigarettes from followers.

Turkey banned smoking in all indoor spaces – including restaurants, bars and cafes – in 2009. A year later, the ban was extended to smoking in sites such as stadiums, mosque courtyards and hospitals.

Although vaping is not illegal in Turkey, buying or distributing e-cigarettes is. Despite this, many people buy e-cigarettes through online distributors.

Last year, Mr Erdogan called e-cigarettes bizarre and addictive. “They claim it does not contain any nicotine, or very little. But soon people will become addicted,” he said.

About 27 per cent of Turkey’s population aged over 15 smoked cigarettes in 2016, according to World Health Organisation data. This was down from about 31 per cent in 2010, with males making up the majority of smokers.

I don’t make many suggestions, but as a president, I am telling those I love that this [smoking] is haram RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN Turkish president