Didim Today

l am against smoking, simple as that. Smoking is the most common reason for me to end a friendship with someone. I simply cannot understand the concept of smoking. To me, disturbing people by smoking tobacco or by burning a stack of paper is the same nonsense. Smoking tobacco is one of the most disrespectful and violent actions allowed by law. In my opinion, harsher restrictions must be placed on smoking immediately and in time the ban should be carried to the level of an ultimate ban, meaning smoking tobacco should be treated like smoking cannabis or using drugs.

Well I am sorry if I am offending smokers, but this is how I think. In a few decades people will probably have difficulty understanding how and why smoking was allowed to remain legal despite being so hazardous.

In my last article I quoted an e-mail I received and am re-quoting it here in case you missed it. A part of the e-mail reads as follows: “Public bus drivers always smoke on the buses. We know of the recent smoking ban on public buses, in public buildings, etc. But we see drivers on both government and privately operated public buses smoking almost every time we ride them. There are clearly displayed no smoking signs, and fines that accompany each violation if you are caught smoking in public places such as these, but right beneath the signs sits the driver of almost every public bus we have ridden, smoking.”

Does the ban include the driver?

Law No. 5727 expanded the scope of the Law on Controlling and Preventing the Damage Caused by Tobacco Products. Accordingly, tobacco products are not to be consumed on public transportation vehicles, including taxis, trains, trams, boats and airplanes. The ban does not exclude the driver. Penalty provisions have been adopted and are to be applied in cases where the prohibition on smoking is breached. Thus, the person who uses tobacco products on public transport is to be charged a fine.

In short, the prohibition on smoking is a belated development in our country and, as a society, we still have difficulties obeying this law. If the law is being breached, what you as an individual can do is inform the relevant authorities.

Only bus drivers?

İstanbul taxi drivers who smoke, depending on the length of the journey and the taxi fare, are usually kind enough to resist the urge to smoke if the customer is bothered by it. Indeed, every non-smoker is bothered by smoke. Without exception, these kind taxi drivers will throw the cigarette butt out the window, showing that he cares about his customer’s health, but not so much the environment. However, very recently I was in a taxi and the driver kept on smoking.

Not bothering to ask me if I mind the smoke, I asked him to stop smoking in the vehicle. He stopped and said, “I am going to smoke and if you don’t like it, you can take another taxi!” It was very disappointing, rude and frustrating. I had no intention of wasting my time by trying to reason with this kind of person, so I opened the door and got out of the taxi.

“Is there any enforcement of the no-smoking policies recently enacted by the government when it comes to bus drivers, for they all do it?” continued the e-mail.

What can you do when a person is smoking in a public place or vehicle?

For taxi drivers, there is an association of taxi drivers and it takes complaints seriously. Please report such incidents to the taxi drivers’ association in writing and send a carbon copy to the related authority, which is the local governor’s office (kaymakamlık).

For public buses, simply make a report of the incident. It is better if you write a statement of what happened and have more than one person (witness) sign it. Attach this to your petition to the local authority and to the municipality (if this bus is run by the municipality). If you face a language barrier, I can provide you with a sample petition to report someone violating the smoking ban. Simply fill this petition out and send it to the relevant authority.

You may think a bus driver’s job is difficult and that he suffers by driving in heavy traffic, but it is against the law to smoke on public transportation. The driver is free to drink tobacco juice or inhale a whole pack of cigarettes in one go, but I really don’t care about a bus driver who is fined for smoking on a bus full of people.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it