This unpleasant situation makes Turkey number 2 in the world in terms of smoking. If only we were leading in patents. In a society where even the teacher’s second favorite free time activity is watching TV, this placement is not shocking. Also, in a society where 68 percent of the teachers smoke, these results are quite normal. 

According to the statements of head president of Green Crescent (Yesilay) , Muharrem Balcı, a joint study conducted by the Ministry of National Education and Directorate General of Security has shown that cocaine, which 1 gram is bought with 150 dollars by its users, is one of the most used drugs among high school students. One-fifth of the students have been consuming cigarettes or alcohol. Cigarette consumption age is thirteen and a half years, for alcohol is thirteen years, for drugs is fourteen years, for marijuana has dropped down to approximately 15 years of age. 

I tell you more dreadful news from Assistant Professor Atilla Eroğlu: 

“15 milliard Turkish Liras are spent for cigarette consumption in Turkey. With this amount of money we could pay our debts to IMF in 6 months.”

“Someone who is addicted to smoking, who in the case has smoked one packet a day for 20 years, has 7 kilograms of tar accumulated in their body, also many poisonous gasses are found in cigarettes including cyanide, arsenic, ammonia etc. Cigarettes are 15 times more addictive than alcohol and 5 times more addictive than cocaine.” 

It is stated that diseases caused by smoking have been seriously decreased with the ban on smoking in closed areas. Also, a good project has been started by The Council of Higher Education (YÖK), which appeals to college students. 

With the collaboration of YÖK and National Students Council, it will try to prevent smoking in the campuses of universities, by a project called “Campus without smoke”. The campaign will last to the 31st of May which is World Smokeless Day. In the project, students will sign a contract called “quit smoking” and “refrain from smoking.” The project aims to raise awareness about the negative effects of smoking. 

According to the information above, it is seen that young generations face a serious danger. No family can see itself as out of this danger. We are talking about consumption age of alcohol starting at age 13. That means they start drinking in 9th grade. We should struggle all the bad habits, as they are all relatives. None of them can be thought as innocent. It seems that the adolescents are the victims, in the schools, there can be adapted courses for struggling these bad habits. May Allah protect all the youth.

Writer: Cevat Çakır
Translater: Sueda Çakır