OBJECTIVE: Investment incentives given to the tobacco industry undermine tobacco control and are contrary to WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 5.3 . The aim of this study is to examine the investment incentives given by the Ministry of Industry and Technology to tobacco industry and tobacco sub-industry and to reveal the damage these incentives cause to tobacco control in Turkey.

METHOD: The words ?tobacco, cigarette, macaron, hookah, hookah tobacco, shisha, hookah pipe and mouthpiece? were searched in 44 Investment Incentive Lists between January 2019-August 2022 period. 53 documents listed as related to tobacco product manufacturing, tobacco product use and other tobacco industry incentives.

RESULTS: 13 incentive certificates were issued in 2019; 15 in 2020; 17 in 2021 and 8 in 2022. VAT Exemption is applied to all companies and at least one other support element is offered to 42 companies. Interest Support to 17 companies, Tax Deduction to 31, Contribution to Investment to 31, Insurance Premium Employer Share to 31, Income Tax Withholding Support for 10 years to 7 , Insurance Premium Support to 7 companies for 10 years, Customs Duty Exemption to 31 companies, and 1 company received Investment Place Allocation.

CONCLUSION: Investment incentives given to TI and and tobacco sub-industry are a clear violation of the provisions of the Article 5.3. Legal measures should be adopted for the implementation of FCTC Article 5.3 and existing problems should immediately be solved. Part of the tax revenues from tobacco should be dedicated to "public health" and "tobacco control" programs in accordance with the implementation guideline of Article 6.1 of FCTC.