http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/israel.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/998696.html http://tobacco.org/news/268255.html The study, published Tuesday in the open-access online medical journal PLoS Medicine, found that 58 percent of Israelis drink alcohol, 48 percent have smoke tobacco . . . Of the 17 countries surveyed, Israelis ranked sixth in marijuana consumption, 14th in alcohol consumption, 15th in tobacco and 11th in cocaine. Ha'aretz Newspaper/Magazine feedback@haaretz.co.il (Ofri Ilani, Haaretz Correspondent) Israel Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212659681334&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/266584.html Sigmund Freud's nephew Edward Bernays was a public relations genius - described in a biography as "The Father of Spin." . . . But to those who shudder at the devastating toll of tobacco, he was no hero: Bernays was hired 80 years ago by the American Tobacco Company to promote smoking among women - which was then considered absolutely unacceptable - and invested great efforts in getting women addicted. ON MARCH 31, 1929, less than nine years after US women got the right to vote and when they still suffered from abysmal inequality compared to men, the Easter Parade was held in Manhattan. A woman named Bertha Hunt led a group of women wearing their Sunday best who lit cigarettes while journalists watched. Miss Hunt told them she had recently been told to put out a cigarette, and had decided to demonstrate her "plight" by lighting up in protest with her friends. The cigarettes, she declared, were "torches of freedom" - a next step in the march toward equality. But she did not reveal that she worked as a secretary for Bernays; what was called a "feminist promotion of the emancipation of women" was in fact a publicity gimmick. . . . Since then, Bernay's ideological successors have continued to aggressively target women, men and young people to replace customers killed by their products over the years. By processing tobacco with lots of dangerous and addictive additives - cyanide, formaldehyde, DDT, nicotine, acetone, arsenic, carbon monoxide and many other substances - the tobacco companies and their public relations men have turned lung cancer from an unknown disease into one of the world's most common . . . THIS LITTLE-KNOWN piece of history was disclosed by Prof. Michael Eriksen at the National Conference on Smoking Prevention and Cessation organized recently by the government, the health funds, the Israel Defense Forces and other bodies in an effort to bring Israel's adult smoking rate down from the current 22 percent. . . . DURING THE Jerusalem conference, the World Health Organization has urged governments to protect the world's 1.8 billion young people by imposing a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041449354&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/266302.html Instead of killing people, tobacco plants are being used to mass-produce cheaper vaccines that will better protect against hepatitis B and cervical cancer, halt gastroenterological norovirus infections and - in the future - even improve the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other cancers, as well as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. So says Arizona State University Prof. Charles Arntzen, a pioneer in biotechnology and the genetic engineering of plants to trigger an effective immune response in humans and animals, who received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Sunday night. Arntzen, who has been here five times and collaborates on projects with his Israeli (especially Hebrew University) counterparts, previously worked with raw potatoes and bananas to boost production of vaccine for poultry and humans, but he has found tobacco is much more effective, practical and cheaper to produce. His team injects viral vectors based on tobacco mosaic virus into the leaves of tobacco plants using a syringe. Five to 15 days later, they harvest that part of the leaf to see if the vectors produce a vaccine antigen. Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872839005&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/266035.html One of America's leading experts on tobacco prevention and cessation says Israel needs grassroots leadership to reduce the smoking rate from its current 23.5 percent, given that the Treasury collects NIS 3.3 billion in tobacco taxes and Health Minister Ya'acov Ben-Yizri has chosen to take a relatively passive approach to the subject. Prof. Michael Eriksen, the director of the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University and former director of the Office on Smoking and Health in the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, made the comments in an interview Wednesday - Israel's official No-Smoking Day - after delivering the keynote speech at the second National Conference for Smoking Prevention and Cessation. The conference, held at the Kibbutz Ramat Rahel Hotel just outside Jerusalem, attracted over 100 participants and was sponsored by the Health Ministry, the four health funds, the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps, the Israel Police, the Education Ministry and others. Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Thu, 29 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872829969&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/265995.html Presenting his annual report on smoking Tuesday, Health Minister Ya'acov Ben-Yizri conceded upon questioning by reporters that his office has no concrete plans to propose legislation aimed at reducing the number of Israelis who light up. Proposals raised by anti-tobacco organizations include barring optional smoking rooms in all buildings so smokers would have to go outdoors, prohibiting smoking in all vehicles with child passengers, banning cigarette vending machines, prohibiting the sale of tobacco in duty-free shops, abolishing all tobacco advertising and including smoking cessation courses in the basket of free health services. Ben-Yizri, who has smoked for more than six decades of his 80 years, said at a press conference in his Jerusalem office on the eve of Israel's No Smoking Day that more enforcement of laws (resulting from a private members' bill recently passed in the Knesset) is needed, because "there are owners of premises who don't want to fight with customers who smoke there in violation of the laws." Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Wed, 28 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000330018&fid=1725 http://tobacco.org/news/262748.html The recent round of cuts and restructuring at Bezeq (TASE: BZEQ) appear to have had little effect on the welfare benefits it provides its staff. The company's welfare department recently announced that it would be financing a new scheme to help employees give up smoking. The program will be offered in cooperation with Abramson Clinics, a rehabilitation institute specializing in smoking cessation. As far as is known, this is the biggest smoking addiction program ever conducted in Israel. Globes/Israel's Business Arena support@globes.co.il (Gad Peretz 6 Apr 08 10:46) Israel Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1206632375399&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/262282.html A 45-year-old man from Ramle is under arrest for abusing his eight children, aged 5-12, with his girlfriend, 36, police said Monday. According to suspicions, the father would beat the children with a pipe and would burn cigarettes on them as punishment. The allegations were uncovered as a result of a complaint submitted to the city's welfare services. The father, who was responsible for raising his eight children along with his girlfriend, had long been suspected of routine abusive behavior. Jerusalem Post updates@jpost.com (JPOST.COM STAFF) Israel Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3512439,00.html http://tobacco.org/news/260470.html Leading rabbis and the Jerusalem Municipality have joined forces in a battle against the widespread habit of smoking in the haredi public, in light of studies indicating that the sector has the highest rate of smokers in Israeli society. The Health Ministry and local haredi authorities will also take part in the effort. In a campaign that will be launched Thursday, rabbis will issue halachic rulings banning smoking. The rulings will be posted on bulletin boards and buses, and published in the community's pamphlets. The decision to launch the campaign ahead of Purim was based on the fact that during the holiday it is usually considered legitimate for children to smoke cigarettes. . . . "Studies have shown that most haredi smokers smoked their first cigarette during Purim, as part of a defective practice which permits teenagers, and even children, to smoke on the holiday," Jerusalem Municipal Council Member Shlomo Rosenstein, explained. Ynetnews Israel Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3508824,00.html http://tobacco.org/news/260076.html The Knesset plenum approved Tuesday an amendment to the Anti Smoking Law, prohibiting smoking in all IDF, police and Israel Prison Service facilities. The bill passed its second and third readings with 11 MKs voting in favor and one MK – Moshe Sharoni (Pensioners Party) – voting against. The amendment further stated that all security forces will have to set clear guidelines regarding the law's enforcement. Ynetnews Israel Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1203343707631&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/260045.html The IDF was handed an official order from the Knesset Tuesday - no more smoking on military bases or other security institutions, effective immediately. The law, which passed a third and final reading in the plenum Tuesday, would eliminate the IDF's current exemption from the laws that ban smoking in public places. Soldiers have already begun plotting to disobey the new orders, slamming the Knesset for "creating unnecessary legislature." "The politicians who created this law have clearly never understood what it means to be in the army," said David, a 20-year-old Golani Brigade soldier from Haifa. "We're finally not living at home, under our parents' rules. We're adults, and smoking is a common and sometimes necessary thing for us to do to relieve tension." Jerusalem Post updates@jpost.com (SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL) Israel Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1202246346829&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/259503.html On Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post sent to Health Ministry spokeswoman Einav Shimron-Greenberg an Internet link to the WHO's embargoed report including data on Israel's performance, which was not allowed for release until Thursday, and asked for comments on Israel's failure to implement many of the clauses. But the spokeswoman said on Thursday morning that ministry officials had still not seen the data. "We are doing the best we can with the available resources to improve implementation of the convention," she said. "Specifically, we are now looking for ways to carry out the demand for setting a national policy. Regarding most of the instructions, including the six strategies, it is not black-and-white, and one can always do better. For example, when raising taxes, when is what a country does considered full implementation? There is no part of the convention that we don't intend to carry out." Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1202064572228&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/259160.html A plea to parents and other adults not to expose children to tobacco smoke has been issued by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), whose members - including the Israel Cancer Association (ICA) - are marking International Cancer Awareness Day on Monday. The only international non-governmental organization dedicated solely to global control of cancer, the UICC says that half of all children around the world are passively exposed to toxic cigarette smoke. . . . The Health Ministry has not done anything to pass legislation that would make it illegal to smoke in a vehicle where children are passengers - even though some US states and other countries have done so - or to bar cigarette vending machines that are easily accessible to children. . . . ICA director-general Miri Ziv added that 85% of lung cancer cases are directly due to smoking. "We call on all Israeli families to declare their homes and cars smoke-free." Ziv also urged parents to advise children to keep away from smoke at all times and in all locations. According to the UICC, the countries with the widest child exposure to tobacco smoke - nearing 100% - are Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Georgia (in the former Soviet Union) and Croatia. Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000303808&fid=942 http://tobacco.org/news/258805.html A 51 year old contractor from Herzliya today filed with the Tel Aviv District Court a NIS 10 million lawsuit against tobacco company Dubek Ltd. He claims to be dying of lung cancer after years of smoking. The petitioner said he began smoking Dubek cigarettes in his 20s because of the positive messages in the company's aggressive advertising campaigns. He said that the public believed the ads, which claimed a close link between smoking and enjoyment of life, success, and social acceptance. He said that he smoked two to three packs a day. Globes/Israel's Business Arena support@globes.co.il (Noam Sharvit) Israel Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201070777380&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/258552.html A private member's bill that would have allowed restaurants and other eating places to set aside 20 percent of their area for smoking was rejected by the Knesset plenum on its preliminary reading on Wednesday. The bill was presented by MK Zvi Hendel of the National Union-National Religious Party and voted down 30 to 25, with two abstentions. If the bill had gone on to become law, it would have exposed nonsmoking employees to customers' smoke. . . . Attorney Amos Hausner, chairman of the Israel Council for the Prevention of Smoking, said he was pleased by the vote as it projected an Israeli image of "a country that observes international commitments such as the World Health Organization Framework Agreement on Tobacco Control, protects public health and is concerned about workers. "Not only most Western countries, but also Egypt and Turkey have passed strict laws that bar smoking in public places," he said. "If it had passed and go on to become a law, anyone who voted for it would be responsible for the diseases and suffering it would have caused." Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1200308094530&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://tobacco.org/news/258159.html Tobacco sales have dropped 12 percent since a strict no-smoking enforcement law went into effect in November, but longtime smoker and Health Minister Ya'acov Ben-Yizri says he will consider making accommodations for restaurant and cafe owners to accommodate complaining customers. The new law significantly raised fines for violators and for the first time set fines for owners of public places who did not enforce the law. As tables outside eating places (including on balconies) are regarded by legal experts as part of the premises, they view smoking there as prohibited as well. Ben-Yizri told a delegation of eatery owners he would "consider" allowing specific outdoor areas to have smoking customers, even though non-smoking customers would be sitting near them. Jerusalem Post jsiegel@jpost.com (JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH) Israel Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:00:00 GMT