Surprising?
Israelis "move away or leave the premises" when people smoke next to them.
Excerpt from an ICA survey response
New!
SMS-based smoking cessation program for soldiers serving in the IDF
First time-ever this year!
Organizations engaged in smoking prevention collaborated in a joint initiative under the slogan: 'Smoke-free Israel"!
The Annual School Competition on Tobacco Prevention, in memory of the late Dr. Marcus will be held on 1 June 2016.
World No Tobacco Day will be observed in Israel and throughout the globe on 31 May; this special day has been marked since 1987.
This unique day aims to place awareness of the smoking epidemic and its health repercussions on the global agenda and to increase awareness, which will in turn promote prevention of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality.
More detailed information:
With the approach of World No Tobacco Day, the ICA asked Facebook fans "How do you respond when people smoke next to you?"
786 people responded to this question.
Half of the respondents (49.4%) answered that they "move away a bit or leave the premises" when people smoke next to them.
23% argued that smoking next to them doesn't bother them, and a mere 13% of the respondents argued that they tell the smoker to stop smoking next to them. 8% do not react at all.
None of the respondents indicated that he/she photographs smokers and/or submits a complaint to smoking inspectors.
New SMS-based Smoking Cessation Intervention Program for soldiers serving in the IDF -
A new SMS-based smoking cessation intervention program has recently been launched, specially tailored for soldiers serving in the IDF and at no extra cost to the participants in the study.
Soldiers are geographically dispersed across Israel and there is a need to develop innovative smoking cessation methods that can be made available anytime, anywhere.
Consequently, the Medical Corps, the ICA, the School of Public Health of the Hebrew University-Hadassah, and the Ministry of Health have partnered to develop and evaluate a new customized program for soldiers serving in the IDF.
As part of the program registration, participants choose their own individual smoking cessation date, to be scheduled within two weeks from the date of registration. Subsequently, the participants will receive text messages to their cellphones containing content that encourages them to quit smoking. The text messaging system is dynamic and attends to the personal needs that may arise throughout the cessation process (desire, falling into old habits, despondency, and other factors) by sending and receiving messages.
Soldiers may register for this program on the ICA website
The program and its evaluation are overseen by the Chief Scientist, Dr. Haggai Levin, of the School of Public Health-Hebrew University-Hadassah and ICA Advisor.
In a pioneer study among civilians, it emerged that the program is applicable and acceptable for smokers in Israel and that 30% of the participants in the program quit smoking during the 3-month monitoring period. This finding corresponds with similar programs around the globe that have shown that such a program, which is inexpensive and accessible, doubles the chances of quitting smoking.
New in Israel!
Upon the initiative of the Healthy Cities Network of the Local Authorities and the ICA, most of the entities engaged in the fight against smoking, collaborated upon the approach of World No Tobacco Day, to increase awareness of the hazards of smoking and the need to reduce the magnitude of active and passive smoking risks in Israel, under the slogan 'Smoke-free Israel'.
Among the entities collaborating in this activity, the following should be noted: the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the healthcare funds, the Israel Medical Association, the National Council for the Prevention of Smoking, the Medical Association for Smoking Prevention and Cessation, local councils, and other entities.
The activity will include 'World No Tobacco Day' at the Knesset on 14 June, participation in the plenary session and the various parliamentary committees, the Annual School Competition on Tobacco Prevention, in memory of the late Dr. Marcus (details below), school competition challenging students to design warning labels on cigarette packs, and activities at 20 different local authorities under the slogan 'Smoke-free City'.
An extensive public information and education campaign on the hazards of smoking and cessation options will be held in all local authorities participating in this activity, clips and ICA and Ministry of Health information sheets will be distributed, and ICA lectures will be held at schools.
Similarly, the law prohibiting smoking in public places will be further enforced in cities, however instead of fines, balloons along with an information leaflet on various smoking cessation programs available for smokers, will be distributed to the public.
The Annual School Competition on Tobacco Prevention, in memory of the late Dr. Marcus will be held on 1 June 2016 at the ICA Headquarters, Beit Mati, in Givatayim, in collaboration with the ICA, Shefi-the Psychology and Counseling Unit of the Ministry of Health and the League against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases.
Projects on the fight against smoking, which made it to the finals and were carried out by students from different schools, will be featured in this competition.
The competition is part of ICA's extensive year-round activity in schools on smoking prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion.
Lectures on this subject are delivered by professional instructors, who work with students and guide them on how to be opinion leaders who will have an impact on their close surroundings - friends and family - to encourage them to avoid smoking.
On World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, Mr. Faten Ghattas, the ICA Activity Director in Arab Society, will be a guest on 'The academia on the Reshet radio network', a Ministry of Education program featuring live lectures and synchronous videos. Faten will be lecturing on smoking prevention methods as well as coping strategies for parents dealing with teens.
The lecture is targeted at parents and will be delivered in Arabic.
According to Ministry of Health statistics, about 40% of the men in Arab-Israeli society smoke, as opposed to less than 10% of the women.
Among the subjects that will be discussed on this program: The status of smoking in Israel; Unique characteristics of the smoking epidemic in Arab society; What is forced smoking and how can one cope with forced smoking? ; What can parents who are smokers do to prevent their children from smoking a hookah? ; Hookah smoking is known to be no less harmful, if not more harmful, than smoking a cigarette, and other issues.
The lecture will be held on Tuesday, from 19:00-19:45.
To watch the lecture please click here.