On 23 November Ashgabat hosted a regular session of the Interdepartmental Coordination Non-Communicable Disease Control and Prevention Committee.
In the course of the event three topics, namely the fight against smoking, healthy diet and preventive health efforts were raised. It was again highlighted that by 2025 Turkmenistan would become a tobacco free country.
“The initiatives aimed at introducing the state monopoly for import and sale of tobacco products are underway in the country to implement these objectives.For this end excise duties for tobacco products are increased and awareness raising and reach-out campaign are carried out”, — “Turkmenistan: golden age” reports
Let us recall that in March 2016 the state monopoly for import and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products was introduced.
In June 2014 President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov received an award from the WHO, a special commemorative medal for contribution to the global fight against smoking.
A year later, in July 2015 Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization and Zsuzsanna Jakab, director of the WHO Regional office for Europe became the recipients of the order of Turkmenistan “Bitaraplyk”, awarded to them by Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.