Turkey moves to plain packaging for tobacco products

Turkey will switch to plain packaging for cigarettes and tobacco products from Dec. 5, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry said on Tuesday, in a move aimed at curbing tobacco sales and discouraging smokers. In a statement, the ministry said the production of plain cigarette packages would begin on Thursday and that sales of the older, branded packages would stop on Jan. 5, 2020.

Turkey will join countries like France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia in selling cigarettes in plain packaging. According to Turkish authorities, diseases attributable to tobacco use cause more than 100,000 deaths in Turkey yearly.

According to the amendment, tobacco products shall be marketed in plain and standard packaging with warning messages and other mandatory texts, phrases, and images. The brand name will be written only on one side of the pack, covering no more than 5% of the side. No brand logo or symbol will be allowed in the new designs.