Alcohol laws of Turkey

Alcohol laws of Turkey regulate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Background
See also: Turkish cuisine

Rakı (Rakija) is a famous Balkan alcoholic beverage, and is a significant part of Turkey's food and drinking culture, a significant cultural-historical symbolic drink in many of its cities, and also the national drink of Turkey.[1]

Alcohol consumption is just above 1.5 litres per person per year in Turkey, which is the lowest percentage in Europe by population, considering the high Turkish population.[2] Turkey is a secular country, and even though the majority of the Turkish population is Muslim,[3] the consumption of alcohol both in public and in private is very common.

Though due to this fact, issues such as alcohol addiction (alcoholism), and other serious issues caused by this factor are a problem in the country.[4]

Consumption measures

Age limits

The sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages is age limited to persons 18 and over.

Drunk-driving

Turkey's driving under the influence law gives a blood alcohol content limit of 0.05 mg/ml and 0 for commercial drivers. Breaching the limit is punishable with a six-month driving ban.[5][6]

Sales measures
Graffiti seen during the 2013 protests in Turkey, showing the words "At least 3 beers" (Turkish: En az 3 bira), a reference to the new alcohol restrictions and Erdogan's recommendation for families to have at least three children.[7][8]

Licensing

Licenses are required in Turkey to sell or serve alcohol, including beer.[5] Alcohol can be sold in markets only between 6 am and 10 pm, but there is no time limit in restaurants, bars, etc.[2] Student dormitories, health institutions, sports clubs, education institutions and some filling stations are prohibited from selling alcohol.

Licenses are given by the local municipalities and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Ministry of Health.[5]

Tax
See also: Taxation in Turkey

The high tax on the alcoholic beverages, called special consumption tax (Turkish: Özel Tüketim Vergisi or ÖTV), was established first in 2002 and dramatically increased in 2010 by the government of the Justice and Development Party, whose leadership is known for their aversion to alcohol.[9][10] For instance, the increase in prices of an average rakı, a traditional Turkish alcoholic beverage, was only slightly higher than the regular inflation, 204% to 206%, from 2003 when Justice and Development Party came into the office until 2012. However, between 2013 and 2020, the average price of rakı has far more exceeded the inflation of commodity prices, 359% to 213%, due to the high tax rates.[11]

The high taxes on alcohol is related to a significant rise in smuggling and fraud involving alcoholic beverages in the country.[12] Bootlegging is blamed for the alcohol poisoning in Turkey, including the 2011 Turkish Riviera mass alcohol poisoning and causality of at least 67 people to methyl alcohol poisoning in October 2020.[13]

Advertising and promotion

In 2013, new laws banned most forms of advertising and promotion for alcoholic beverages on radio and television, including promoting such related sponsored activities, festivals and giveaways.[5] Beverage companies ran ads criticizing the ban.[14][15]

The law also included a requirement to blur depictions of alcoholic beverages on television and in television films, as was already done for cigarettes,[2] and for bottles to carry health warnings similar to tobacco packaging warning messages.[5] These laws did not affect online media, and significant protest grew against the ban on platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Ekşi Sözlük and YouTube.

A 2011 ban by the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority on advertising in sports meant the basketball team Efes Pilsen S.K had to change its name and rebrand as Anadolu Efes S.K.,[16] as the name “Efes Pilsen” was a company-branch group who owned the club within the Efes company, that is a significant and popular beverage company in Turkey and around Europe, which is still the club’s owner and main sponsor as of today.

Regulations

The laws were regulated by the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority until 24 December 2017. Since then the laws are regulated by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Turkey.

Proposed new measures

A governmental act imposed in January 2011 proposed restricting the sale of alcohol at certain events to persons under 24 years of age rather than the official and legal age of 18 as it was previously established. However, the restriction was later overturned by the courts and deemed unconstitutional.[17]

See also

References
  1. Talya Arditi (29 December 2015). "How to drink raki, Turkey's signature drink". CNN. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  2. Letsch, Constanze (31 May 2013). "Turkey alcohol laws could pull the plug on Istanbul nightlife". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023.
  3. "Table: Muslim Population by Country". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  4. Starr, Stephen (15 March 2018). "Turkey Faces Deadly Drinking Challenge". Ozy Media. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  5. "Turkish Parliament adopts alcohol restrictions, bans sale between 10 pm and 6 am". Hürriyet Daily News. 24 May 2013.
  6. "BAC and BrAC Limits". IARD.org. International Alliance for Responsible Drinking. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  7. "Turkey's Islamist-rooted AKP to propose new bans on alcohol". Hürriyet Daily News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  8. "Turkish PM pushes for 'three children incentive'". Hürriyet Daily News. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  9. "AKP, alcohol, and government-engineered social change in Turkey". Hürriyet Daily News. 10 May 2010. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  10. "Turkish consumers dazed by another alcohol tax increase". Hürriyet Daily News. 29 October 2010. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  11. "Turkish boozers resist alcohol restrictions - sometimes at deadly risk". Al-Monitor. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  12. "High alcohol, cigarette taxes in Turkey promote smuggling, fraud". Hürriyet Daily News. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  13. "Turkey: 67 died of alcohol poisoning in last 13 days". Anadolu Agency. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  14. Schweizer, Kristen; Hacaoglu, Selcan (12 June 2013). "Diageo Facing Raki Trouble in Turkey After Booze-Ad Ban". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014.
  15. "Alcohol Marketers Say Farewell to Ads In Turkey--With Ads". Ad Age. 1 June 2013. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023.
  16. Announcement Archived 2012-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, efesbasket.org
  17. "Russian woman has died in Turkey from poisoning by counterfeit alcohol". World News – Russian opinion. 30 May 2011. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
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