Turkmenistan bans tobacco sales

The tobacco ban makes Turkmenistan the second country worldwide after remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan to effectively ban all kind of tobacco products.

Turkmenistan authorities outlawed the sale of all tobacco products, effectively banning smoking altogether.

Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow upped the ante on anti-smoking laws this week by banning the sale of all tobacco products in the country.

Shops in the country can now face fines to the tune of $1,700 if caught selling cigarettes.

In 2004, the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan reportedly became the first nation in the world to outlaw all tobacco sales.

The move from Turkmenistan authority comes amid a government media campaign discouraging the people of Turkmenistan from lighting up. State television broadcasts frequent reports promoting healthy living and on Thursday it showed boxes of cigarettes being incinerated. Media reports confirmed that cigarettes have disappeared from the shelves.

Earlier in January, the president sharply criticized the head of the State Service for Protecting the Security of a Healthy Society for not doing enough to eradicate smoking.