This is according to a new survey by the Cancer Society, conducted in preparation for No Smoking Day 2006. * 93% of non-smokers want their partners to quit smoking. -70 million
A lit cigarette in the hand of an actor or singer who appears on television or in a picture in a newspaper, angers about a quarter of the public in Israel, according to a new survey by the Cancer Society conducted in preparation for No Smoking Day 2006 by the Market Watch company. The survey was conducted through a computerized telephone poll, in the middle of May 2006, and 500 interviewees participated in it, constituting a national and representative sample of the Hebrew-speaking population in Israel. The survey also shows that, the majority of the public agrees that the price of cigarettes should be raised as part of the fight against smoking and also believes that placing an ashtray on the table in public places constitutes an unwritten permission to light a cigarette.
According to the findings of the survey, there are significant differences between the position of smokers in Israel and non-smokers, and there is also a difference between the opinion of the women compared to the opinion of the men and even between young people and adults on the issues the survey dealt with. For example, 32% of non-smokers get angry when they watch or read and see a lit cigarette, compared to only 7% of smokers who get angry. Women get angry almost twice as much as men and about 15% of young people aged 18-24 feel like lighting a cigarette. 60% of non-smokers agree to increase the price of cigarettes as part of the fight against smoking compared to only 18% of smokers. Women agree more to the price increase compared to men. About half of smokers want to quit and about 60% of them want their partners to quit smoking. 93% of non-smokers want their partners to quit smoking.
At a press conference held this morning by the Minister of Health, Ya'akov Ben-Yezri, and the CEO of the Cancer Society, Miri Ziv, data from the minister's report on smoking was presented. The Minister of Health: "Precisely because I, to my great regret, smoke, I am more aware than others of the dangers inherent in smoking. My son and three grandchildren do not smoke. I am aware of the state responsibility imposed on me, but the fact that I smoke does not constitute a message to the public, God forbid. I will make every effort to put the fight against smoking at the top of the Ministry of Health's priorities. The main effort should be directed to the younger generation so that they don't even start smoking."
Miri Ziv, CEO of the Association to Fight Cancer: "This day is a fundamental and important battle in a long-term war, in which we work all year round to increase public awareness of the dangers associated with smoking and to provide a variety of solutions for quitting. However, there is still a lot of work to do, effective ways of enforcing the laws that have already been enacted must be developed and some of the legislation must be amended in the spirit of the times, including the law restricting smoking in public places. We must act in the field of taxation as an effective and important tool to reduce tobacco consumption among various sectors of the population, act even more strongly in educational institutions, eradicate the deadly advertising campaigns of the cigarette companies and implement the international treaty to combat smoking that the State of Israel signed about two years ago."
The data on smoking patterns among the adult population originate from the "Knowledge, Attitudes and Health Behavior" (KAP) 2005-2004 survey conducted by the Department of Education and Health Promotion through the National Center for Disease Control at the Ministry of Health. KAP surveys are conducted once every two years and are intended to provide information on knowledge, attitudes and behavior in relation to a variety of health indicators as a basis for setting policies to promote health in Israel.
The information presented below is based on a database that includes 4,379 samples: 1,970 men (45%) and 2,409 women (55%); 77% of the interviewees are Jews and members of other non-Arab religions and 23% are Arabs.
Smoking rates in Israel
• 25.5% of the adult population in Israel smoke
(The rates represent the extent of smoking among Jews and Arabs together).
• 32.1% of all men in Israel smoke
and 19.3% of all women smoke
(The rates represent the extent of smoking among Jews and Arabs together).
Comparison by gender and population group
• among men:
30.3% of Jews smoke
41.2% of Arabs smoke
• Among women:
21.3% of Jewish women smoke
8.3% of Arab women smoke
Willingness to quit smoking
• About 20% of all smokers intend to quit smoking in the coming month.
• About one-sixth of the smoking population express their intention to quit smoking in the next six months (17.8% of Jewish smokers and 14.3% of Arab smokers).
• More than 60% of smokers do not intend to quit smoking.
Increasing the warnings on cigarette boxes
• About 75% of smokers and about 70% of non-smokers think that increasing the Ministry of Health's warnings on cigarette boxes will not make people stop smoking.
• In contrast, about 21% of the smokers and about 23% of the non-smokers believe that this will indeed lead to smoking cessation.
Smoking patterns among teenagers
Main findings from the youth health and nutrition survey, 2004-2003
The data below are based on the findings of a youth health and nutrition survey conducted in 2004-2003 by the National Center for Disease Control among a representative sample of approximately 6,300 Jewish and Arab youth in Israel in grades XNUMX-XNUMX.
smoking cigarettes
• 7.8% of all boys in grades XNUMX-XNUMX smoke
• 4.8% of all girls in grades XNUMX-XNUMX smoke
Age of starting smoking
• Among twelfth grade students who smoke, the average age of starting smoking was 13.8 years for boys and 14.5 years for girls.
• 37% of the boys who smoke and 19% of the girls who smoke started smoking before the age of 14.
Exposure to smoking / passive smoking
• 40% of all students reported that they smoke near them at home
• 29.5% of the students reported that they smoke near them at school
• 72.2% of the students reported that they smoke near them in places of recreation
Hookah smoking
• 20.1% of boys and 8.9% of girls reported that they smoke hookah.
Positions regarding the ban on smoking
• 61.6% of all students expressed positions in favor of a complete ban on smoking cigarettes under the age of 18.
The smoking situation in the IDF
The IDF conducts an annual survey of health habits among conscripts and those who are released. As part of the survey, the soldiers are also asked about their current and past smoking patterns. The most recent data we have refers to the year 2005.
Among those enlisting in the IDF in 2005
28.7% of soldiers smoke
32.5% of female soldiers smoke
Among those released from the IDF in 2005
41.3% of soldiers smoke
37.3% of female soldiers smoke
For about 8 years, no change has been observed in the smoking rates of recruits and those released from the IDF
The daily consumption of cigarettes among the released smokers decreased in both men and women: in men - from an average of 15.1 cigarettes per day in 2003 to 13.2 in 2005 and in women - from an average of 11.2 cigarettes per day in 2003 to 9.6 in 2005.
The activity of the Ministry of Health and other professional bodies for the prevention of smoking
In 2005, the management of the Ministry of Health and the management of the Ministry of Education appointed the inter-ministerial committee for smoke-free schools.
The main recommendations of the committee are:
• Establishing a professional system that will accompany the schools and assist them in formulating policies
Banning smoking in schools and finding appropriate enforcement strategies.
• Development of unique educational programs adapted to the diverse needs of different populations in Israel.
• Increasing public support among policy makers and the general public.
• Establishment of an accompanying research system.
Unique programs of the Ministry of Health for 2006:
1) Development of an e-learning program for smoking prevention in collaboration with the Hebrew University.
The program is based on the American "Truth" campaign in which the manipulations of the tobacco companies are shown over the years.
2) Establishing a smoking cessation site for teenagers in collaboration with the "Neana" portal. A program will be offered on the site
Weaning according to five steps, testimonies of celebrities who chose not to smoke or who stopped,
Forums for support, videos, games and more.
3) Development of a television program for children based on living characters, who are role models.
• Other professional bodies such as the Association for the War on Cancer, the Ministry of Education, fund offices
The hospitals, the Healthy Cities network and the IDF are engaged in reducing the scourge of smoking in collaboration with the ministry
Health through legislation, enforcement and the operation of detox and information programs.
"According to the data of the World Health Organization, every year about 5 million people die in the world as a result of smoking. Smoking kills 560 people every hour, 13,400 people every day. Forecasts predict that by the year 2020, if the number of smokers does not decrease, the number of deaths as a result of smoking will increase to 8.4 million people every year! The forecasts even predict that by the year 2025, 1.7 billion people in the world will smoke, today about 1.3 billion people smoke."
Men and women in the world
Although there are differences in smoking rates between the sexes, women have been narrowing the gap in recent years.
In the world about 48% of men and 12% of women smoke.
In developing countries, about 50% of men and 9% of women smoke.
In developed countries - 35% of men and 22% of women smoke.
Mortality from smoking in the world in the coming years
Smoking is the second leading cause of death in the world, and the largest preventable cause of death. About half of all the 1.3 billion smokers today, about 650 million women and men, will die prematurely from smoking, half of them will die in middle age and lose about 20 years of their lives on average. Smokers who die as a result of smoking before the age of 70 lose an average of 22 years of their normal life expectancy. 30% of all cancer deaths are caused by smoking. About 90% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. One in ten deaths among adults is caused by smoking. 25% of all deaths among men in the western world are directly caused by smoking. The risk of smokers under the age of 40 of having a heart attack is 5 times greater than that of non-smokers. 15 billion cigarettes are smoked every day in the world. In China, health expenses from the harms of smoking are estimated at approximately 6.5 billion dollars per year. It is predicted that of its 300 million male citizens, today aged 0-29, 200 million will become smokers. Of those 200 million smokers, about 100 million will die from diseases related to tobacco smoking - where half of these deaths will be middle-aged people and under 70 years of age.
It is expected that in 2030 tobacco smoking will become the leading cause of death and disability, causing the death of 10 million people each year. In doing so, it will become a greater cause of death than AIDS, tuberculosis, death in childbirth, car accidents, suicides and domestic murder - combined.
Smoking and morbidity in the world
• 75% of heart attacks up to the age of 45 are among smokers.
• The rate of deaths in smokers from any cause is 70% higher compared to non-smokers.
• 85% of men suffering from impotence caused by cigarette smoking.
• The risk of impotence among young male smokers is 50% higher than among non-smoking males.
• Cigarette smoking damages vision.
Cigarette smoking and morbidity in the world
• Smoking cigars increases, among smokers, the risk of getting lung cancer 2-3 times compared to non-smokers.
• Smoking cigars increases among smokers the risk of contracting various types of cancer in the oral cavity and pharynx.
Smoking and women in the world (women who smoke like men, die like men - and more!)
• 2/3 of the cases of sudden death among women are caused by smoking, compared to ½ of the cases of sudden death among men.
• In the United States and some Scandinavian countries, women who smoke like men die more from lung cancer than from breast cancer.
• Over 50% of myocardial infarction cases in women are caused by smoking.
• Birth control pills increase the risk of heart disease among women who smoke compared to non-smokers. The explicit recommendation of the doctors to women who smoke is to stop smoking, and until they have done so, not to use birth control pills.
• Women who smoke have a higher risk of lung cancer compared to men who smoke.
• The risk of infertility among women who smoke is 60% higher than among women who do not smoke.
• Women who smoke who undergo fertility treatments reduce their chances of conceiving by 1/3 compared to non-smokers.
• Studies show a connection between smoking by pregnant women and pregnancy complications, low birth weight of the fetus (150 grams on average!), birth defects such as cleft palate, cleft lip.
• Smoking and the fetus: breathing movements of a fetus decrease within 5 minutes from the start of smoking by the mother. Tobacco smoking is directly related to premature births.
• Nicotine is excreted in breast milk at a concentration 3 times higher than the level in the blood of women who smoke. The nicotine is absorbed by the babies and may cause them nicotine poisoning.
• Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy are at a higher risk of respiratory diseases, allergies and hypertension in childhood
Smoking and teenagers in the US and around the world
• In the US, about 3,000 children start smoking every day, more than a million a year.
• About 90,000 young people get addicted to smoking every day.
• 3/4 of the minor smokers testified that they are addicted to tobacco.
• About 2/3 of teenage smokers said they would like to quit smoking, and 70% said they would not start smoking at all, if they could choose again.
• Over the past 6 years, the number of girls who smoke in the US has doubled.
It is expected that the global tobacco smoking epidemic will cause the death of 250 million children and teenagers, one third of them in developing countries.
The effect of advertising on the youth of the world
Advertisements and sophisticated marketing methods are the most significant factor in the initiation of smoking among teenagers. A study that examined the advertisements and marketing of cigarettes over the last 100 years revealed their decisive role in increasing the percentage of smokers among teenagers and how the advertising campaigns affected first of all teenagers under the age of 18 and less on adults.
For example:
• 69% of the youth in the USA smoke Marlboro compared to 24% of the adults in the USA - Marlboro is the cigarette in which the most advertising is invested among the famous cigarettes in the USA.
• In the advertising campaign for the "Jo Camel" cigarette: 91% of the 6-year-old children who were asked if they knew his character answered yes, (96% of the 6-year-old children know Mickey Mouse).
0.5% of the youth smoked Joe Camel before the advertising campaign, while after it the percentage of youth smokers rose to 32%. Following the advertising campaigns, sales to minors increased from $6 million to $476 million.
• A study found that 13-year-olds who were exposed to the advertising of tobacco products in magazines increase their chances of becoming smokers by 21% compared to young people who were not exposed to the advertising of tobacco products.
• Documents have been revealed proving that popular movie stars received large sums of money in exchange for smoking in movies.
• Advertising for tobacco is also done in indirect ways: sponsoring young people's events, linking a popular brand (clothing for example) with the name of a particular tobacco product (cigarette/cigar).
Smoking cessation in the world
• One year after stopping smoking, the risk of getting heart disease drops by 50% and within 15 years, the relative risk of the ex-smoker dying from heart disease approaches that of a non-smoker at all.
• The relative risk of developing lung cancer, chronic lung disease and stroke also decreases, but at a slower rate.
• After 10-14 years from the moment of stopping smoking, the risk of dying from cancer decreases and reaches almost the risk of a person who never smoked at all.
• A recently published study shows that smoking cessation combined with an appropriate nutrition plan helps keep the quitter from gaining weight due to smoking cessation.
Economic damages from smoking in the world
A study by the World Bank estimated that the price of medical treatment for diseases related to tobacco smoking causes a net loss of 200 billion dollars per year. About half of this amount is found in developing countries.
This study also shows that the prevention programs for tobacco use are ranked as the most effective in terms of cost-effectiveness among the various health programs.
About 15% of the total health budget is spent on treating diseases caused by smoking.
Economic considerations prevent the implementation of a policy that would reduce the volume of smoking, such as increasing the tax on cigarettes or a blanket advertising ban on cigarettes, however, according to World Bank studies, these measures do not harm tax revenues and do not lead to the loss of jobs, therefore the economic benefit of measures such as these is in reducing costs Health without damaging the economy.
The expenses on smoking in households from low socio-economic status populations may reach up to 10% of the monthly expenditure, money that could have been used for food, education, medical expenses, etc.
It is expected that for every 1,000 tons of tobacco consumed, there will be 650 additional deaths at a global cost of $27.2 million.
Those who quit using tobacco create significant savings by not buying tobacco products and lowering the cost of health care. For example, in the United States, a 12-year-old boy who will invest the money he will spend throughout his life on buying a pack of cigarettes a day, in a savings account (8% interest per year), this person will have $100,000 in his account at age 39 and $1 million at age 65.
Restriction of advertising of tobacco products in the world
There are studies that show that advertisements are the most influential factor on teenagers in their decision to start smoking. Teenagers start smoking the most advertised cigarette brand. Children cannot be isolated from advertisements for cigarette products, and teenagers are affected by these advertisements 3 times more than adults who are exposed to them.
Confidential documents of company C. R. Reynolds, who were exposed following the lawsuits in the US, reveal that they specifically targeted advertisements that attract children and teenagers, in order to increase the area among young people aged 14-24. They planned to market their products to young people by sponsoring events such as youth shows, places where young people hang out, and newspapers and magazines they read. They also conducted surveys on the smoking habits of the 14-year-olds and their market preferences. They suggested a comics approach, following which Joe Camel was born.
Today, tobacco companies direct their efforts to the female population as well, both in advertisements and in the development of products suitable for women.
Increasing the taxation of tobacco products
Studies in other countries have shown that increasing taxation on tobacco products reduces the percentage of young people who start smoking and increases the number of smokers who stop smoking. Every 10% increase in the price of cigarettes reduces the number of young smokers by 15% and contributes to a 4% decrease in the number of older smokers.
Increasing the supervision of smoking and the enforcement of the laws on the prohibition of smoking in public places
Studies have shown that as long as there were no laws restricting smoking in public places, the rights of non-smokers were trampled upon. Since the legislation the non-smoking public has not been forced to become passive smokers against their will. This law is important mainly because of aggressive smokers who do not consider other non-smokers.
It should be noted that cigarettes are the only product that has no control over the ingredients in it, and is the only one that is harmful if used as the manufacturer intended. There is no detail on the cigarette which ingredients are in it, unlike any other product that contains the various ingredients, and it is not subject to FDA supervision.
In several European countries there is a ban on advertising tobacco products
In several European countries there is currently a ban on the advertising of tobacco products, and the European Union obliges all member states to implement such a ban. A similar law is implemented in some US states and is planned to enter into force in other US and European countries. The main conclusion is that the advertising ban has a great effect on a large decrease in the proportion of smokers, which cannot be associated with another factor. Here are the conclusions:
Norway: The advertising ban began in 1975. Sales of tobacco products to adults (age 15 and over) showed an increase from the 50s. From the beginning of the 70s, the existing numbers were maintained. And immediately after the application of the ban and until 1996 there was a 26% decrease. Also, since the ban on advertising, there has been a decrease in the percentage of children and teenagers who start smoking. The percentage of children who start smoking dropped from 37.6% in 1975 to 22.3% in 1996.
Finald: The law was enacted in 1975, and applied in 1978. The rate of sales of tobacco products to adults has decreased by 37% since then. Since the application of the law, the rate of those starting to smoke between the ages of 16-25 has dropped from 35% to 23% in 1997.
New Zealand: The second part of the law, banning the advertising of tobacco products began in 1990.
The sale of cigarette products for adults (from age 16+) decreased by 21%. Since the application of the law, the percentage of teenagers who started smoking (15-19) has dropped from 26.8% to 24.7%, within 5 years.
France: The application of the law prohibiting the advertising of tobacco products was in 1993. Smoking rates among adults decreased by 14%.
