Smoke In Our Eyes

            Is it just another inevitably fruitless government attempt at gaining some semblance of respect in the endlessly admonitory gaze of the European Union or is the current theocracy simultaneously killing the party and the all-important culture of critical discourse that occurs daily in the hundreds of cafes, coffeehouses, and bars that line this city?
           
           The recently imposed smoking ban on all closed public areas, bars, cafes, and restaurants is the toughest anti-smoking legislation passed in Europe and includes a 70 lira fine on the spot for all individual transgressors.  Prime Minister Recep Erdogan is indeed a staunch advocate of generally sober ideals and, accordingly, he has outlined a healthier future for the residents of Turkey that includes pious industry, a horde of progeny in the domestic sphere, and clean lungs for all.

            Basically anyone with a personal investment in the service industry (whether it is restaurant/café owners, musicians, waiters, or the average citizen simply attempting to expire prematurely via hedonistic pursuits) has voiced a hearty displeasure at this abrupt and all-encompassing renunciation of their lifestyle.  A large swath of this city , from that stodgy old man that stares at your girlfriend as she passes the cay bahce to the hippest DJ’s at local rock venues like Peyote, depend on vibrant public gatherings for their respective livelihoods.  Thus, it is these individuals that are specifically hindered by ill-planned and hastily enforced anti-smoking laws.

As half of all Turks aged between 15 and 49 enjoy daily consumption of tobacco products, there is no question as to whether business will decrease, especially in the ubiquitous and seemingly ill-fated nargileh cafes.  The query at the heart of the matter is this – does the death of this traditionally engrained culture of shooting the shit/exchanging badinage/engaging in small talk at the local coffeehouse concurrently usher in a new era in which critical discourse and discussion no longer take place in the public sphere and are thus relegated to the internet?  If Grandpa can’t go to the coffeehouse and vacillate over local politics does he have to turn to Facebook as an alternative?

As far as popular revolt against the legislation has gone, a number of protests have been organized and carried through in most major cities in Turkey by small-business owners and their cadre of supporters. These generally follow the old SNCC non-violent model and consist of the sudden emptying of a local-watering hole as patrons coalesce into a writhing mass of government excoriations outside in the street.  The final symbol of defiance is the simultaneous extraction of a cold cancer stick by all parties involved and the crisp inhalation of the warm vapors of solidarity.  It pulls a revolutionary tear to the anti-establishment duct – the grassroots repudiation of governmental oppression amidst the whole-hearted embrace of multi-national death mongers.  Oh, Philip Morris, you saccharine-sweet Antebellum gentleman, this conflagration lights the autumn sky for you.

A Brief Time-line of Oppression

1575 – The first recorded anti-smoking bans are enacted by the Roman Catholic Church in parts of Mexico.

1633 – Sultan Murad IV bans public smoking in Istanbul and around eighteen souls a day are executed for ignoring the royal decree. 

1941 – The Nazis begin a strident campaign against the ills of tobacco.  Hitler himself was a fervent anti-smoker and thus the Third Reich enacted countless laws in occupied territories.  The term “passive smoking” (second-hand) is subsequently coined by the Nazi PR machine during these years.

1973 – Arizona is the first state to restrict smoking in public places.  This legislation officially commences a new-wave of heightened public awareness and tough anti-tobacco laws throughout the U.S.

1990 – San Luis Obispo, a coastal city in Central California, becomes the first town in modern times to ban indoor smoking in all public places.

1998 - California becomes the first U.S. state to ban smoking in all closed bars.

July 30^th, 2009 – Café owner Hidir Karayigit, 46, of Saruhanli, becomes the first victim of the Turkish smoking ban as he is shot to death by wayward patrons after an altercation stemming from their refusal to quell their fires indoors.

Presently, Bhutan is the only country in the world to have a complete restriction on the sale of tobacco products as well as smoking in public. 

By G.Pilisi