As part of the fight against smuggled tobacco and tobacco products, Türkiye launched Operation Breath-2 and arrested 198 suspects determined to be members of criminal organizations.

The operation was launched on wedenesday, under the coordination of the Interior Ministry, the Directorate General of Security and the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Presidency (KOM) and targeted nine criminal groups at 583 addresses across seven provinces, namely Adana, Balıkesir, Gaziantep, İzmir, Kocaeli, Mardin and Şanlıurfa, according to reports.

In Türkiye, the government initiated serious anti-tobacco programs to protect the public and future generations from the harmful effects of tobacco products, including banning campaigns encouraging their use, to ensure everyone is able to breathe clean air. The country adopted its first tobacco regulation in 1996 with Law No. 4207 on the Prevention of Harmful Effects of Tobacco Products. In 2008, the first law was amended and the second tobacco control law was adopted with Law No. 5727.

Within the scope of the "Framework Convention on Tobacco Control" aimed at curbing cigarette consumption, a number of operations have taken place throughout the country while KOM seized a large haul of illegal tobacco and related products earlier this year.

The operation to apprehend the 198 suspects was carried out simultaneously in the morning after detention warrants were issued by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to prevent tax losses, end the illegal activities of criminal groups and hinder the public's access to illegal products.

According to the 2022 data provided by KOM, 108 criminal groups were detected in other operations against the smuggling of tobacco products and hollow cigarette tubes known as macarons.

In this context, 4.7 million packages of smuggled cigarettes, 1.3 billion empty macarons, 425 million filled macarons, 273 tons of tobacco products and 329,000 cigars were seized in 6,115 operations carried out in nine months this year.

In addition, 323 illegal factories where macarons were being stuffed were discovered and a loss of TL 625 million in taxes was prevented thanks to the operations.

Türkiye's long struggle against the use of tobacco has lasted for more than 20 years, with the country making constant efforts to curb this challenge, from its anti-smoking campaigns to specifying areas in cafes and restaurants for smokers.