Table 5 Level of political priority given to tobacco control and road safety in Turkey, 2002–2014

Expressed commitment

Prime Minister expressed his concern at three public events

• 2007: Prime Minister Erdoğan declared tobacco control to be as important as the country’s counterterrorism efforts^a,b

• 2010: Prime Minister Erdoğan explained that tobacco use has become more destructive than terrorism^c; Erdoğan also said at another event that his government is determined to continue its battle against smoking^b

Prime Minister expressed his concern at one public event

• 2013: Prime Minister Erdoğan declared road safety to be the second most important problem in Turkey, the first being terrorism^a,d

Institutional commitment

The government enacted legislations that are up to international standards

• 2006: A circular from the Prime Ministry promulgated the National Tobacco Control Programme and Action Plan

• 2008: Enacted the 100% Smoke-Free Legislation

• 2013: Implemented all of WHO’s MPOWER measures

The government closed a loophole in a regulation but has yet to amend the larger piece of traffic legislation that would nullify the remaining exemptions and allow the changes to the regulation to be more sustainable. Consequently, no institutional commitments were made that would ‘lock in’ Turkey’s response to road safety.

• 2012: A circular from the Prime Ministry promulgated the Road Traffic Safety Strategy and Action Plan and established the Road Safety Strategy Coordination Board

• 2014: Regulation 150, which exempted commercial car drivers from wearing seatbelts was closed, although not entirely

Budgetary commitment

The government allocated resources for tobacco control particularly as it relates to implementation of the 100% smoke-free legislation

• 2008: Seracettin Çom explained that the Prime Minister fully backed the tobacco control campaign and the Ministry does not have a budget limit for it^c

• 2008: More than 4000 inspectors were trained to enforce the law; in 2010, this number increased to more than 6000 to ensure that enforcement did not fade

• 2013: Government expenditure on tobacco control was US$1.3 million^e

Although there has always been some public funding for traffic safety, the amount is limited^f and has not increased after the launch of the Decade of Action for Road safety in Turkey^a

Moreover, the implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy is not funded by the government^a,g