Turkmenistan’s authoritarian leader launched an “unprecedented” anti-smoking crusade ordering the Central Asian country to become completely smoke-free within two years, coinciding with smoke-free targets more strictly set by some states to 2025.
President Serdar Berdymukhamedov said the “uncompromising” fight against smoking would include cracking down on “illegal imports of tobacco products and their sales, including shisha pipes and e-cigarettes,” state media reported. “Our state will launch a massive anti-smoking movement of unprecedented magnitude to help expand smoke-free countries in the world,” he added.
Strict anti-smoking measures — including bans on advertising and smoking in public places — have already been put in place in the former Soviet republic, which has been ruled with an iron fist by the Berdymukhamedov family for nearly two decades. Also, it is possible to purchase cigarettes only from state stores.
Berdymukhamedov, who took over the reins of power last year from his father Gurbanguly, a dentist-turned-authoritarian, aspires for the country to be smoke-free by 2025.
About 20 youths were arrested at its border for “smuggling tobacco and shisha products and e-cigarettes,” state television reported on Thursday. One of them was caught on video publicly apologizing for smoking shisha in his home and posting a video on Instagram, which is banned in the isolated country. The oil- and gas-rich Caspian state is one of the worst in the world in terms of press freedom, sitting just below Syria in Reporters Without Borders’ annual index. President Berdymukhamedov said he had “severely reprimanded” the head of Turkmenistan’s customs service for the “poor performance of his duties”.
Despite his retirement, Berdymukhamedov Sr., known as “hero protector”, continues to dominate the country, one of the worst sources of methane gas emissions that is warming the planet. He and his son regularly entertain the nation with their singing, and he has one town, television channel, newspaper, and football team named after him.
Source : ERTNews.gr
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