Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is pushing ahead with his plan to make the Central Asian country tobacco-free by 2025, state media reports.
State-run newspaper Neitralny Turkmenistan said on April 15 that the president had signed a program ordering measures to be taken over the next five years to push his initiative, but it did not provide details.
Berdymukhammedov maintains strict control over all aspects of society.
He has been a proponent of healthy living and has made it a key aspect of his autocratic rule.
In 2013, he banned the sale of cigarettes in state stores during the month of April each year.
