This country has just banned smoking and sale of tobacco products entirely

Tobacco consumption of any kind has been known to be a cause for several health hazards and over the years there have been several campaigns and efforts which aim at raising awareness and discouraging people from smoking.

While bans on alcohol, beef and certain kind of clothing in countries across the world have triggered a debate, the relatively tightly controlled country of Turkmenistan has gone ahead and banned smoking.

While media in the country, ruled by authoritarian president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedow, is very restricted, reports on an independent website called Chrono-TM have suggested that shops face a fine of around Rs 1 Lakh for selling cigarettes.

In a country which is said to have the third worst press freedom according to Reporters Without Borders, the website has said that a black market in the capital Ashgabat has started selling contraband cigarettes for as high as Rs 270.

The president Berdymukhamedow’s opposition to cigarettes is well known since he is seen enjoying healthy activities like cycling and fishing in outdoors, and had stripped the head of the State Service for Protecting the Security of a Healthy Society of his rank of colonel for failing to discourage smokers.

The ban was reportedly followed by the state controlled broadcaster airing footage of thousands of cigarette packets being incinerated.