BMC Public Health 2008, 8(Suppl 1):S4 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/S1/S4 system in Turkey will facilitate national implementation of a tobacco use prevention curriculum, once an effective program is identified and evaluated. It is important to note that introducing anti-smoking programs to teenagers is not an easy task. It is not always easy to identify the smoking students, given that they do not want this to be known by their teachers, parents, and other relatives and/or may be scared that they will be punished for smoking. Similarly, because of a fear of stigmatization, for example, teenage smokers are not as open as adults to attending ‘quit smoking’ centers and/or to receiving help from professionals, even when they want to quit smoking. Training for teachers and parents in how to approach a teenager who smokes is important in this respect. Article 13: tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship Law 4207 prohibits mass media advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products, as well as the sponsorship of all sports and cultural events by tobacco companies. Data from the GYTS show one-third of the students reported seeing cigarette advertisements on billboards and 28% saw advertisements for cigarettes in newspapers or magazines. In other countries that have conducted the GYTS, billboards often refer to posters seen at point of sale locations and newspapers and magazines refer to international publications. Turkey does not have a ban on advertisements in international publications. The GYTS also includes information on indirect adver- tising by the tobacco industry. Students were asked if they have an object (cap, shirt, knapsack, and so on) with a tobacco company logo on it. One in 10 students in Turkey had such an object. The working group formed by the MOH could use this information as support for amending Law 4207 to include stronger provisions regarding direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products. Article 14: demand reduction measures concerning tobacco dependence and cessation The GYTS results show 7 in 10 current smokers wanted to stop smoking and over 7 in 10 have tried to stop during the past year but have failed. Turkey has some cessation clinics in select universities and hospitals, but these cessation efforts focus largely on adults. This finding indi- cates a need to develop, pilot test, and evaluate potential youth cessation programs. Once effective programs have been identified, they need to be made widely available throughout Turkey. The evidence is currently insufficient to support the efficacy of smoking cessation programs in young people [16]. Article 16: sales to and by minors The GYTS data show that almost half of the current smokers (all aged 13 to 15 years and, thus, minors) usually buy their cigarettes in a shop and many of them were not refused purchase because of their age. Clearly, enforcement of the minors’ access law is a major issue facing Turkey, as well as amendment of the prohibition of tobacco sale near educational facilities. These efforts can complement other population-based intervention efforts to reduce tobacco use in Turkey. Conclusion Passing of Law 4207, ratification of the WHO FCTC, and formation of a working group by the MOH to assist in developing a national tobacco control program are important milestones for tobacco control in Turkey. The MOH now needs to move forward in implementing the provisions of Law 4207, and developing effective enforce- ment procedures. The working group and the MOH can use the findings of the GYTS to assist in development of a national tobacco control policy, as recommended in the WHO European Strategy for Tobacco Control [17]. Development of an effective comprehensive NTCP - including smoke-free environment policies, increases in the price of tobacco products, comprehensive laws to regulate and enforce bans on sales, purchases, and con- sumption of tobacco products by underage youth, regula- tions of content, labeling, promotion, and advertising of tobacco products, and targeted mass media campaigns [18,19] - will require careful monitoring and evaluation of the existing programs and should be tailored to future needs. The synergy between Turkey’s leadership in passing Law 4207, ratifying the WHO FCTC, and supporting the conduct of the GYTS offers Turkey a unique opportunity to develop, implement and evaluate a comprehensive tobacco control policy that can be most helpful to Turkey. List of abbreviations used FCTC, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; GTSS, Global Tobacco Surveillance System; GYTS, Global Youth Tobacco Survey; MOH, Ministry of Health; NTCP, National Tobacco Control Program; WHO, World Health Organization. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ contributions CWW, NRJ and SA conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft the manuscript. TE was responsible for national coordination of the study and for drafting the manuscript. BC and DA participated in interpretation of the statistical analysis and drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements This survey was supported financially and technically by the World Health Organization-Tobacco Free Initiative and the US Centers for Disease Page 6 of 7 (page number not for citation puroposes)