Even more than Covid-19, smoking is a real scourge that still kills thousands of people every year. In Israel, the coronavirus crisis has encouraged Israelis to quit smoking or to reduce their smoking.
STOPPING SMOKING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
According to a new study conducted by Israel Cancer Association (ICA), the coronavirus crisis has encouraged Israelis to quit smoking or to reduce their smoking.
The survey, released Sunday for World No Tobacco Day, found that more than half of Israelis between the ages of 18 and 24 (51%) have considered quitting since the onset of the coronavirus. 49,2% of them said they smoke less. However, almost a third of Arab Israelis (31%) said a family member started smoking during the coronavirus, compared to 8% of Jews.
The poll found that 22,1% of Jews and 38,3% of Arabs smoke inside their homes, while 61% of smokers said they smoked on their balconies or outside during lockdown.
In the past decade, around 80.000 people in Israel have died from smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, throat cancer, heart attacks or strokes, according to the ICA.
« The Israeli public must be protected from the economic interests of the tobacco industry and safeguard their health »Declared the vice-president of ICA, Miri Ziv. The World Health Organization estimates that by the end of the year, tobacco will be the leading cause of death worldwide, with more than 10 million victims per year.
