Jump to full article: Jerusalem Post, 2008-01-03
Author: JUDY SIEGEL
Intro: The Health Ministry voiced strong opposition on Tuesday to attempts to water down anti-tobacco legislation and said that if these attempts succeeded, they would seriously harm public health.
The ministry was commenting on a private member's bill proposed last week by NU/NRP MK Zvi Hendel, which would have allowed smoking in a fifth of the space of pubs, cafes and restaurants.
The Hendel bill was opposed Monday by a majority of the Ministerial Committee on Legislation, including Health Minister Ya'acov Ben-Yizri and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, and therefore will not be a government-sponsored bill. However, it will still be presented for a preliminary reading before the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.
The proposal by long-time smoker Hendel is aimed at fighting back against successes by anti-tobacco legislation pushed by Likud MK Gilad Erdan and Israel Council for the Prevention of Smoking head Amos Hausner.
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