Research: Tobacco companies exploit every possible loophole in the law to get teenagers addicted

Researchers claim that tobacco companies are taking advantage of many loopholes in the law during the Corona period, "to continue selling a new generation of smokers". Dr. Yael Bar-Zev from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one of the leaders of the study: "The tobacco and smoking companies will not be harmed by any means. The Health Minister's report proves that Israel has run out of resources in the treatment of smoking, as the rate of smokers has remained stable for about a decade.

Recently published studies indicate that smoking is apparently a risk factor for severe morbidity and mortality from the corona virus. It is known with certainty that smoking is an independent risk factor for many underlying diseases such as chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes and cancer, all of which in themselves increase the risk of severe morbidity from the COVID-19 virus. But so far, this has not caused a real change in the operating patterns of the tobacco and smoking companies. 

A new study that she led Dr. Yael Bar-Zev, from the School of Public Health at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Hadassah Medical Center, and chairman of the Medical Society for Smoking Prevention and Quitting in the Medical Association, together with Prof. Hagai Levin, an epidemiologist at the Hebrew University and the Hadassah Hospital and Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians, in collaboration with other parties - the Smoking Eradication Initiative, the Israel Medical Association, the Ministry of Health and researchers from George Washington University in the USA - presents new and alarming findings according to which the tobacco and smoking companies take advantage of every existing loophole in the language of the law to continue marketing their addictive products and sell a new generation of children and teenagers, precisely in the current period. The study was published A few days ago in the world's leading scientific journal for the study of the war on tobacco "Tobacco Control" Under the title "Tobacco legislation reform and industry response in Israel".

The amendment to the law that came into force on January 8 this year included, among other things, a ban on displaying smoking products at points of sale and the obligation to sell uniform smoking packs without branding and logo marks. The main goal of these measures is to prevent children and teenagers from being exposed, as much as possible, to the aggressive marketing and advertising methods of the tobacco and smoking companies, and to prevent their exposure to these products as much as possible, and their addiction to them for all its social, economic and health consequences. The researchers found that the tobacco and smoking companies took advantage of existing loopholes in the Israeli law, and the lack of an enforcement mechanism that was not defined in the law, to continue aggressively advertising and marketing their products. Thus, they provided designated cabinets for the points of sale - luxurious, eye-catching, not hermetically closed (so that the products are visible in a certain way both from the front and from the side), which include large signs that say "Tobacco products are sold here" and more. In this way, teenagers and children continued to be exposed to the existence of the products at the points of sale.

In addition, certain tobacco and smoking companies took advantage of the exclusion of the written press from the advertising ban, to continue branding and differentiating their products despite the obligation to have the uniform packs. For example, one of the companies published in its ads in the press branding signs of its products, including an image of a reduced pack (not in the required format of uniform packs) in the background of the ad.

According to Dr. Yael Bar-Zev, who led the study, "These findings illustrate that the tobacco and smoking companies will not spare any means to continue selling a new generation of smokers, and take advantage of existing loopholes in the law and the lack of enforcement. The Health Minister's report that was published recently, and will be discussed tomorrow in the Labor, Welfare and Health Committee this Tuesday, proves that the State of Israel has run out of resources in the treatment of smoking, since the proportion of smokers has remained stable for about a decade, around 20%. We call on the Minister of Health, MK Yuli Edelstein, and the Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, to act decisively and quickly against the continued marketing and advertising of these products, by correcting the existing deficiencies in the law, including defining a clear enforcement mechanism, canceling the exclusion of the written press , and adding health warnings that include pictures of the harms of smoking to the uniform packs."

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• On stars smoking in movies: among the most effective promoters of smoking among teenagers
• A new study warns that electronic cigarettes may lead to premature aging of the brain
• Smoking is the most effective public killer legally walking in our midst