The Council for the Prevention of Smoking calls on the public: "Ask smokers to refrain from smoking in public places"
The Israeli Council for the Prevention of Smoking wishes to comment on a survey by the company "Telskar", which was published in "Maariv" at the end of the week, according to which the rate of smoking in Israel has decreased to only 23% among the adult population in the country.
Attorney Amos Hauzner, chairman of the Israeli Council for the Prevention of Smoking: "The smoking rate was 42% in the 70s, 37% in the early 80s, 29% in the early 90s, and today, as mentioned, it stands at only 23%."
The Council also wishes to point out the increase in the proportion of people who reprimand those who smoke in public places in violation of the law: according to the survey, 47% of non-smokers habitually reprimand those who smoke in public places (compared to only about 20% in previous surveys).
It should be noted in this context the public campaign that was conducted for this purpose by the Ministry of Health and the Cancer Society, in which the famous "Shy" (Angels) will be broadcast, which seems to have been very successful.
However, the council is requested to direct the public's attention to those additional 30% for whom smoking bothers them but they do not comment on it yet. This figure joins another figure, which refers to the smokers themselves, according to which many of the smokers do smoke in public places but stop when they are warned. This proves that most smokers are aware that smoking in a public place can be disruptive, and therefore they respond positively when they are asked to do so. Therefore, the council appeals to those shy 30% who are still not in the habit of asking that they join and warn those who still smoke in a public place. According to the results of the survey, such an approach almost always receives a positive response: only 2% of smokers continue to smoke even after being warned. Since smoking interferes with about 77% of those exposed in total, the public's reaction is required and even important.
