A simple survey done in the streets of the Turkish capital showed that the public is looking forward to seeing the smoking ban in force. Surprisingly, the owners of the coffeehouses that are going to be affected by the ban are also willing to go along with it. They have already converted their shops and stores to non-smoking places.Alaeddin Işıklı, 37, the owner of a patisserie, said that he saw the ban as a very beneficial event that would take Turkey one step further into the modern world. “We support the smoking ban, of course. It is very obvious that smoking is a harmful addiction to everybody. Of course we have some concerns about the decrease in the number of customers, but it has to be done in order to have a healthy Turkey,” he said.
The smoking ban is going to be applied in the indoor areas of bars, coffee and tea houses, restaurants and cafés starting from July 19.
“We definitely support the ban to the end. In this way, non-smokers' rights will be protected,” said Özcan Kökler, 41, the operator of a café. However, he told Sunday's Zaman that the status of the nargile cafés should be reconsidered. “Some people go to cafés just to drink a cup of coffee, but others go to nargile cafés to smoke. The ban might cause them to go out of business,” he stressed.
Operators of teahouses, however, complained about the latest news. Considering the risk of losing their customer base and decreasing income, they have some concerns about the ban.
“We cannot give any support to the ban since we might lose our jobs because of it. Everyone in this place is a smoker. After the ban there will be just a few people here instead of the current crowd. Although it is really necessary in regard to health issues, it will hurt our business,” stated Ahmet Sancaktar, a worker in a teahouse.
National
