Health Minister Memişoğlu: 30% of 13-17 Age Group Smokes Cigarettes

Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu spoke at the Turkish Parliamentarians Union Program: According to the latest TÜİK research, of 7.5 million youth aged 13-17 in Turkey, 2.5 million — 30% — use cigarettes. Memişoğlu emphasized that the average age of smoking initiation in society remains at 17, describing this as "a dramatic problem."

The minister listed obesity, tobacco and poor habits, drugs, behavioral addictions, and low fertility rates as Turkey's five primary health issues.

According to health infrastructure figures shared by Memişoğlu, the number of hospitals increased from 1,156 to 1,526, bed capacity rose from 164,000 to 274,000, qualified bed numbers jumped from 18,000 to 184,000, and intensive care beds increased from 2,000 to 48,000; the number of healthcare workers reached 1.5 million from 378,000.

Memişoğlu noted that through the work of family physicians, 8,000 people were diagnosed with cancer without developing clinical symptoms over the past year, and also announced that primary cesarean section rates dropped by 5.5 percentage points for the first time since 2024. He stated that the integrated system combining home health services, palliative care, and family medicine is being piloted in Kayseri and Izmir and will be expanded nationwide in Turkey.