Erdogan rules out e-cigs

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has ordered his trade minister “never” to allow e-cigarettes.

“They asked us for a place and permission to produce these [e-cigarettes.] 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.”

Erdogan said that tobacco companies were “getting rich by poisoning” people.

Around 27 percent of Turkey’s population aged over 15 years smoked cigarettes in 2016, according to World Health Organization data, down from around 31 percent in 2010.

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.