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Health Ministry: 2.7% rise in the number of smokers last year

New report points to increase in number of smokers aged 21 and over to 22.5% of the total population in Israel in 2016; rate of hookah smokers among highschoolers stands at 39% in the Jewish sector and 42% in the Arab sector; tobacco industry brings in NIS 6.34 billion in revenue before VAT.

The rate of smokers in Israel rose by 2.7% in 2016 when compared with the previous year, according to a new report published Thursday by the Ministry of Health.

 

 

According to the report, the percentage of people aged 21 and over smoking in Israel in 2016 stood at 22.5%.

 

The report also shows that 31.1% of all men in Israel smoke, while 15.8% of all women in Israel smoke. The smoking rate among men in Israel is higher than the average in the European Union (25.6%), while the rate of smoking women in Israel is slightly lower.

 

(File photo: Shutterstock)
(File photo: Shutterstock)

 

The rate of smoking among the Arab population stands at 23.4%, compared with a marginally lower 22.3% among the Jewish population. Responding to the fresh figures, the Ministry of Health has announced that it plans to launch an extensive campaign against smoking in the Arab sector in the near future.

 

As for youth, rates of smoking in junior high schools stand at 2.6% of Jewish boys and 1.7% of Jewish girls, compared with 1.2% among Arab boys and 0% among Arab girls. A significant jump can be seen in the figures pertaining to high school which stand at 14.4% of Jewish boys and 7.1% of Jewish girls, compared with 10.6% and 0.8% among Arab boys and girls, respectively. In addition, hookah smoking rates are high and appear to increase with age. 

 

 

The report also shows that in 2016 there was a 4% leap in the number of participants in programs providing assistance for people seeking to quit smoking at the HMOs, and a record of nearly 27,000 smokers who applied for rehabilitation, constituting only 2.2% of the total number of smokers.

 

But the financial benefits reaped by the government from its citizens’ smokers cannot be overlooked. Indeed, the data indicates that the state's revenues from purchase taxes on cigarettes and tobacco amount to about NIS 6.34 billion, not including VAT and not including income from other tobacco products.

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.02.17, 14:41
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