Is Smoke Free Leaping to Social Media?

In the past weeks, the law proposal to amend certain laws and decrees on health was accepted by the Parliament Health, Family, Labor and Social Affairs Committee. With the accepted offer, tobacco products will not be used and their images will not be included in television programs, films, series, music videos, commercials and promotional films, works shown in cinemas and theaters, internet, social media and similar media open to the public.

The offer doesn't just stop there; It introduces a series of arrangements from the rearrangement of the packaging of tobacco products, to what is written on it and what is displayed. The condition that the packages of tobacco products should be uniform is the salt pepper of this business.

Packaging regulations aside, what exactly does this social media and internet ban mean?

First of all, I would like to associate the above draft with one of the previous news. There is a report on the Turkish website of euronews on 02.09.2018. What does this news say; He mentions that tobacco companies, whose advertising opportunities on familiar media such as television and radio are banned, use social media for advertising purposes and to encourage smoking. In Instagram, Facebook and other social media sources, he talks about how advertisements are made on people with a high number of users and seen as 'Phenomenon' and how they try to influence the subconscious of young people.

Obviously, this is a project that I mentioned above is based on the known. However, Ali Şeker, a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) of the Parliament's Health, Family, Labor and Social Affairs Commission, as much as I can follow on news channels, mentions that there is a very wide ban and that ordinary social media users may face penalties. But he adds that the implementation of the law will also be very troublesome.

The proposal has passed the commission, but has not yet been enacted. Now, I do not know how it will be implemented after it is enacted and whether we will see different developments before. However, this is a situation that can cause a lot of trouble as it will also include ordinary users.

28.11.2018 Date Addition

The Law Proposal Amending Certain Laws and Decree Laws on Health, which adds smokeless airspace and restricts sharing on social media, was accepted in the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 15.11.2018 and became law. He was sent to the President two days ago on 26.11.2018.

The social media regulation of the law for the discussed tobacco and tobacco products is as follows:

ARTICLE 23- The sixth and seventh paragraphs of Article 3 of the Law on the Prevention and Control of the Harms of Tobacco Products dated 7/11/1996 and numbered 4207 have been amended as follows.

“(6) The use and display of tobacco products in TV programs, films, series, music videos, commercials and promotional films, films and theaters , or for commercial purposes or for advertising purposes in the internet, social media or similar media open to the public. It is forbidden to use tobacco products and display their images.

I am not a lawyer, but it does not seem to include personal social media users. It will probably be discussed in more detail in the following days.

Enjoyable smoking ... at least for now ...