Mr. Osman Baturhan DURSUN, Secretary General of the Turkish Green Crescent Society, visited H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK at the SESRIC Headquarters. The meeting highlighted the important work carried out by SESRIC in the area of tobacco control.

In her remarks, H.E. SELÇUK underscored perils of the growing tobacco epidemic, particularly in OIC countries, and the global efforts to combat it. Globally, tobacco is responsible for over 8 million deaths annually, with more than 7 million attributed to direct tobacco use and over 1.2 million to second-hand smoke exposure. She added that almost 80% of the world's 1.1 billion smokers reside in low- and middle-income countries.

Mr. DURSUN underlined the readiness of the Turkish Green Crescent Society to enhance technical cooperation and build more efforts to work together with SESRIC in the fight against tobacco use.

H.E. SELÇUK outlined potential areas of cooperation between SESRIC and the Turkish Green Crescent Society, including contributing to publications, joint events, and awareness-raising activities.

This bilateral meeting between Mr. DURSUN and H.E. SELÇUK demonstrates the commitment of both institutions to addressing the global tobacco epidemic and promoting public health in the OIC countries.

The Green Crescent is a non-profit and non-governmental organization that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions against different kind of addictions including alcohol, tobacco, drug, gambling etc.