Israel considers new action plan to curb smoking, vaping

Israel's Health Ministry opened a public consultation on Monday, August 21, on an action plan for all tobacco and vaping products. The plan includes: banning tobacco and vaping flavors, banning puffs, and raising the age of sale to 21 from the current 18. The action plan is the result of the discussions of a national task force appointed by the Health Ministry last May to propose solutions to the country's tobacco epidemic.

The current smoking rate in Israel for people aged 20 is over 20.%, which is higher than in most Western countries, and most importantly, it has not changed since 2007, with the Arab community smoking more (26.3%) than the Jewish community (18.4%).

A comprehensive action plan to reduce consumption and protect young people

The plan has several components[1] concerning tobacco and vaping products, the latter being widely consumed by young Israelis. The proposed measures are numerous, including:

• Granting the Ministry of Health the power to enforce the current nicotine concentration limit for e-cigarettes, the limit on the volume of liquid in their authorised tanks;
• The requirement to affix graphic health warnings to all tobacco and vaping products;
• Ban on the sale of single-use electronic cigarettes (puff):
• Reducing the number of points of sale:
• Raising the age of authorization for the sale of tobacco and vaping products to 21;
• Granting the Ministry of Health the power to enforce the ban on internet advertising;
• Standardization of taxes on vaping devices and tobacco products;
• The application of a tax on all products containing nicotine for non-medical use.

In France, the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) published a White Paper last May with very similar recommendations[2] to achieve a tobacco-free generation by 2032, such as: raising the legal age of sale of tobacco and nicotine products to 21, banning the sale of all such products to young people born in 2014 or later, banning vaping flavours and banning disposable vaping devices.

Reservations about the benefits of vaping to quit smoking

In its press release, the Ministry of Health states that " E-cigarettes are the gateway to smoking for young people who start experimenting with them at a young age "For the ministry, there is no solid evidence demonstrating that the use of electronic cigarettes helps smokers to quit, compared to nicotine replacement therapy with support from a health professional. It specifies that the scientific evidence concerning the health risks of electronic cigarettes in the short and medium term is increasingly well known and that they mainly concern the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, trauma and burns, and the development of nicotine addiction in young people.

Keywords: Israel, tobacco control, action plan, smoking, vaping, flavors, cessation

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[1] Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, Israel's Health Ministry updates tactics to fight smoking, The Jerusalem Post, published August 21, 2023, accessed August 23, 2023

[2] Press release, The National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) proposes strong measures to achieve a tobacco-free generation by 2032, published on May 2, 2023, consulted on August 23, 2023