Nargile cafes may be banned in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - Parliamentary Health Commission Chairman Cevdet Erdöl, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy who contributed to the “smoke-free air zone” law, has proposed a bill to Parliament demanding that nargile cafes should be closed, Today’s Zaman reported.

If the proposal is successful, water pipes, or nargile as they are popularly known in Turkey, will be treated as tobacco products and therefore banned from indoor spaces. According to Erdöl’s proposal, companies which produce flavored tobacco for nargile will not be permitted to offer free samples of their product to nargile cafes. Businesses will also be banned from using the logos and trademarks of tobacco companies in their trading name.

Erdöl emphasized that cafes which primarily cater to nargile smokers will be closed permanently. Other businesses which offer customers the option to smoke nargile outdoors will be required to remove any references to nargile in their marketing. Businesses that break the proposed law will face a fine of between TL 50,000 and TL 250,000.

The proposal also suggests that anti-smoking warnings should be included on nargile bowls, as is currently the case for other tobacco products. On-the-spot fines of up to TL 5,000 would be issued to businesses that do not clearly display the warnings, which the proposal suggests should cover up to 65 percent of the surface of nargile bowls.