Sawt Falasteen - Reclusive Turkmenistan bids to go tobacco-free in 2025

"I smoke in my apartment. But if I feel like smoking in town, I find a place without surveillance cameras to avoid a fine -- an alleyway, a dead end, behind some tall bushes or trees, a deserted spot," the 64-year-old builder told AFP.

The reclusive Central Asian state of seven million people, where the rate of smoking is already very low, has vowed to eradicate the habit altogether by the end of the year.

Khodjayev said he had already been fined for smoking near his home.

"Since then, I try not to get caught anymore," he said.

The target of going tobacco-free was set in 2022 by the country's supreme leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a former dentist.

Only four percent of Turkmens smoke, according to the World Health Organization.

There are heavy taxes and restrictions on cigarettes and smoking in almost all public places is now banned.

Khodjayev says he buys cigarettes at private kiosks since state shops run by the ministry of commerce do not have them.

In his kiosk in the capital Ashgabat, seller Meilis said the cigarettes came from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Iran.

"Most of the time, I sell single ones. Not everyone can afford an entire pack, it's too expensive," the 21-year-old told AFP.

- Steep fines -

According to several smokers in Turkmenistan, a pack can cost between 50 and 170 manats ($14.20 to $48.50), while individual cigarettes cost between two and five manats.

A pack is therefore around 11 percent of an average monthly salary, which was roughly 1,500 manats in 2018, according to the most recent official Turkmen statistics.

Comparisons with other countries are complicated because of the double exchange rate in Turkmenistan -- an official one controlled by the state and the real one which operates on the black market.

In a hospital in Ashgabat, Soltan, a doctor, welcomed the government's "active fight against tobacco".

"We treat tobacco addiction. The health ministry has created centres where smokers can get free advice on quitting," she said.

The authorities rely on more coercive methods with a variety of smoking bans, import restrictions and fines that can reach 200 manats.

"After receiving several fines, I decided to stop definitively after the time I got caught smoking in my car in a public car park," said Ilyas Byashimov, a 24-year-old entrepreneur.

- Public apologies -

The Berdymukhamedovs -- Gurbanguly and his son Serdar -- have ruled the country for almost 20 years with almost absolute power.

After Serdar Berdymukhamedov called in 2023 for a "no compromise" fight against smoking, around 20 people were shown on state television promising not to smoke water pipes or import tobacco illegally.

There are also regular public burnings of contraband cigarettes, accompanied by shows of traditional Turkmen dancing and singing.

With just a few months to go until the end of 2025, the authorities are not claiming victory in rooting out smoking.

Contacted by AFP, the health ministry declined to reply -- not surprising in a country where obtaining and verifying any official information is extremely hard.

Smokers seemed doubtful about a total ban.

"Cigarettes will not disappear completely but will become much more expensive and there will be a black market," said Haidar Shikhiev, 60, a builder.

Seller Galina Soyunova said that cigarettes "will always be available under the counter but even more expensive".

"Who will buy cigarettes for the price of gold? Nobody. The question of tobacco addiction will resolve itself," she said.

M.Qasim--SF-PST