Draft:Smoking in Israel

Tobacco smoking in Israel refers to the smoking of tobacco within the State of Israel. As of 2022, the rate of smokers among the adult population has stood at 20%. According to the Ministry of Health, smoking caused approximately 8000 in Israel anually due to cancer, vascular diseases, stroke, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and more. About 10% of these smoking related deaths (approximately 800 people per year) are non-smokers who died due to passive smoking.

According to the Ministry of Health, as of 2022, approximately 353 cigarette packs are consumed anually in Israel, along with about 415 tons of handrolled cigarettes and 133 tons of hookah tobacco. In 2021, a record was reached in the import of electronic cigarettes, which stood at 12.5 million units.

As of 2021, households in Israel spent about 10 billion shekels anually on various tobacco products, including cigarettes, hookahs, electronic cigarettes, and others. In comparison, in 2022, the total expenditure on dairy products in Israel was about 8.7 billion shekels. State revenues from tobacco taxation in 2022 stood at 7.5 billion shekels per year.

History

In 1959, the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics estimated that about 48% of men over the age of 18 smoked, and about 13% of women over the age of 18 smoked. By 1972, the rate of smokers remained about 48%, while the rate of female smokers rose to 23%. The smoking rate among Arabs in Israel stood at 63%. A survey by the Dahaf Institute in early 1988 indicated a decrease in the smoking rate during the 1980s, from about 37% in 1983 to 28.5% at the beginning of 1988.

In 2007, the rate of Jewish male smokers was estimated at about 26.7%, Jewish female smokers at about 19.7%, Arab male smokers at about 39.8%, and Arab female smokers at about 6.8%. In 2017, the estimated rates were 23.3% for Jewish male smokers, 16.9% for Jewish female smokers, 38.2% for Arab male smokers, and 7.2% for Arab female smokers.

Accoding to the National Program for Quality Indicators in Community Medicine in Israel, the overall rate of male smokers in 2017 stood at 26.6%, and the rate of female smokers was 12.2%.

Youth smoking in Israel

The age range between 13 and 24, particularly the 15-17 age group, is the primary and most critical entry point into the smoking world. This includes any product based on tobacco or nicotine, consumed by smoking, vaping, sniffing, or chewing.

At ages 13-18, even minimal exposure to nicotine can lead to addiction.

The rate of children aged 12-24 who smoked in 2023 nearly tripled compared to the previous year, rising from 5.7% in 2022 to 14.6% in 2023, according to a survey conducted by the Israel smokefree organization.

Hookah smoking in Israel

In the early 2000s, hookah smoking became a common practice among teenagers in Israel. According to the HBSC 2019 survey presented in the Health Minister's Report on Smoking in Israel 2019, approximately 25% of the students surveyed had tried smoking a hookah at least once. This practice is significantly more prevalent in the Arab sector: about 46% of boys and 24% of girls reported having ever smoking a hookah, compared to 26% of boys and 15% of girls in the Jewish sector. The survey indicates that the percentage of students who have tried hookah smoking increases markedly with age. Among 11th-12th graders in the Jewish sector about 44% and 28% of girls have tried it, while in the Arab sector, over 60% of boys and over 30% of girls reported the same. Among those who have ever smoked a hookah, 12% of 11th-12th graders and about 24% of 10th graders did so for the first time at age 12 or younger. 8% of the surveyed students reported smoking hookah at least once a week. Approximately 25% of boys in the Arab sector smoked hookah weekly, compared to about 7% of boys in the Jewish sector. Similarly, about 8% of girls in the Arab sector and 3% of girls in the Jewish sector smoked hookah at least once a week.

Hookah smoking is harmful, similar to cigarette smoking, and increases the risk of cancer, lung diseases, and addiction. Due to the typical method of hookah smoking and its longer duration compared to cigarettes, hookah smokers may absorb a greater amount of toxic substances. Additionally, using charcoal to burn the tobacco increases health risks because the combined combustion produces toxins, heavy metals, and carcinogens. Smoking hookah for an hour can lead to inhaling 100-200 times more smoke than from a single cigarette. Hookah smokers are also at risk of contracting infectious diseases transmitted through saliva, such as herpes and various viral illnesses.

Despite the health risks associated with hookah smoking, there is a misconception among teenagers and their parents that the tobacco mixture contains fruits and is therefore harmless; however, these are merely flavoring agents. Some also believe that the water in the hookah filters out toxins, but in reality, water filtration does not eliminate toxins and may cool the smoke, leading to deeper inhalation.

Tobacco companies in Israel

As of 2012, three major tobacco companies dominated most of the market in Israel:

Philip Morris International is the largest company in the Israeli tobacco market with a market share value of 56.7%. Its market share volume is slightly lower (52%) due to its relatively expensive product mix. Philip Morris owns four of the ten best-selling cigarette brands by volume: Marlboro, L%M, Next, and Parliament. In 2012, Israeli consumers spent 4 billion shekels on the company's brands.

Globrands Group is the second-largest cigarette company in Israel, holding a 26.2% market share in 2012, with a higher volume share due to a relatively inexpensive product mix. Globrands owns three of the best selling-brands by volume: Pall Mall, Camel, and Kent. The company's brands LD , Kent and Lucky Strike are ranked 11th to 13th. It also sells Winston cigarettes. In 2012, Israeli consumers spent 1.86 billion shekels on the company's brands. Besides tobacco products, the company also markets various snack foods from companies such as Unilever (Telma, Bagel & Bagel, Knorr, Lipton, Ferrero) and more.

Dubek, the vetrean cigarette manufacturer in Israel, holds a 16% market share value (and 20% market share volume). The company's sales are in decline. Although Dubek owns three of the top ten leading cigarette brands, (Time, Noblesse, and Golf), their status across smokers in Israel has decreased, showing a decrease of 10%-12% in sales volume.