Smoke-free Village in Yozgat Stays Healthy

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 22 April 2019)

pedestrian-friendly see this TNT report about another
trailblazing place, Sinop.



                They don't even try to sneak a smoke!


For the past 22 years, the residents of the village of Haydarbeyli in
Yozgat have been smoke-free.  Based on a decision of the village
elders at that time, no one in the 120-household village smokes and it
has become the place with the least amount of hospital visits. When
relatives come from abroad in the summer, the villagers try to persuade
them to abandon the harmful habit, as well.

The most recent visitors to the village, which has become a focal point
for anti-smoking association Yeşilay, were Mehmet Şaşmaz, head of the
German Anti-Smoking Association and Prof. Dr. Orhan Kural, head
of the Sarıay Association.   Şaşmaz, who is from Ordu, brought gifts
from there for the Haydarbeyli villagers, including half a kilogram of
hazelnut oil and a kilogram of hazelnuts for each household.


                   "Smoke 'em if ya got 'em." (heh, heh)

Şaşmaz explained that "our aim is to keep people away from that
enemy of good health, cigarettes.  We congratulate this village,
has been successful in this quest.  We've suggested that every
family here raise chickens to increase naturalness.  Since every
corner of this village is smoke-free, the eggs and fruit will be very
appealing to buyers."

Sarıay Association chief Kural noted that "if more places adopt a
smoke-free environment like Haydarbeyli health will improve. I
congratulate the villagers here for knowingly avoiding cigaretttes."
Meanwhile, Haydarbeyli village chief Adem Yapar related that
"No one among the 174 people in our village uses cigarettes and,
this has been the case for the past 5 years.  And the 15 children
here don't see their elders smoking so they haven't started.  I
stopped smoking after 16 years of it. We're happy to get the
attention of the rest of Turkey.  The number of people going to the
hospital has dropped and we're all healthy.  No one has any chest
illnesses."


          Map of all the smoke-free places in Turkey.