In Israel, the tobacco industry is organizing its response

A study by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (JUJI) shows that cigarette companies are exploiting legal loopholes to market their products to minors in order to "create a new generation of people addicted to cigarettes."[1] ".

In early 2020, the Knesset – the Israeli Parliament – adopted new legislation, allowing in particular the banning of tobacco advertising in the media, including the removal of linear displays, i.e. displays of tobacco products at points of sale but excluding the written press. The legislation also provided for the establishment of neutral packaging and, with the exception of cigars and pipes, text health warnings occupying 30% of the two main surfaces of the package.

The law circumvented by cigarette companies

The tobacco industry's response to these new regulations was swift. Retail outlet owners were forced to install eye-catching signs at their counters that read: "We sell tobacco products." This circumvention continues to expose teenagers to the presence of these products in retail outlets.

The ban on advertising in the media voted by Parliament contained an exception concerning the written press. The industry took advantage of this situation to promote its products via this distribution channel. This circumvention strategy shows that an advertising ban must be total to be effective, in particular to avoid the transfer effects observed here.

Filling regulatory gaps

The researchers denounce the government's failure to curb the tobacco epidemic, which has not abated for a decade. They also call for reversing the shortcomings of existing legislation, in particular by adding graphic health warnings and banning the advertising of tobacco products, including in print media. The university presented its findings to the Knesset's Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, as part of the Health Ministry's report on smoking in Israel.

This news item includes the main elements of the following article:

Hebrew U. finds tobacco companies using loopholes to market to teen, The Jerusalem Post, 09/07/2020, accessed 09/09/2019

Keywords: Israel, tobacco industry

©Generation Without Tobacco

Tobacco Control Published Online First: 04 September 2020. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056041

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056041