Israel approved new regulations requiring graphic health warnings on all smoking product packaging. This is the first time the country will mandate visual warnings alongside existing text labels, illustrating the harms of smoking and damages resulting from exposure. The regulations will apply to various smoking products, including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, hookahs, and smokeless tobacco.
"This week, the ministry's initiative to add graphic warnings to smoking products was approved," said Moshe Bar Siman Tov, Director General of the Ministry of Health. "Preventing smoking and its damages is at the top of the Ministry of Health's priorities. Unfortunately, the use of electronic cigarettes, especially among young people, is gaining momentum, which also affects the extent of smoking of regular cigarettes. In addition, the ministry has led other measures, including raising taxes and equalizing them among different products and publishing a campaign to raise awareness of the danger of electronic cigarettes."
Health Minister Uriel Bosso emphasized the urgency of the situation: "The smoking epidemic continues and constitutes one of the deadliest health risk factors in the State of Israel. It is responsible for enormous morbidity and preventable death—especially among the young. This is a health mission of the highest order, and we are fighting it with all our might. Our goal is clear: to reduce as much as possible the exposure, accessibility, and addiction to tobacco and nicotine products—and to ensure that fewer young people join the circle of smokers. This is a national responsibility for public health, and we are acting with all the tools at our disposal."
The Ministry of Health's report on smoking in Israel for the year 2024 revealed a disturbing picture: one in five adult Israelis smokes, a rate approximately 30% higher than the global average. According to the report, the smoking rate among adults in Israel is 20.5%, similar to its rate over the past decade. The smoking rate among men is 25.6%, significantly higher than among women, which is 15.6%.
Alarmingly high smoking rates persist among certain populations. The smoking rate among Arab men in Israel remains very high at 40.3%. In Arab society, exposure to smoking is twice that of Jewish society, with rates of secondhand smoke exposure nearly twice as high in the Arab population compared to the Jewish sector, both inside homes and in public spaces.
A survey among young people in the Haredi community found that 54% of students in Haredi high schools and 80% of youth in dropout programs aged 12–17 have tried smoking products. The average age of first experimentation with smoking was 12.9 years. The data indicate very high usage rates—sometimes even daily—among very young ages.
Among teenagers across Israel, smoking experimentation is alarmingly high. The Ministry of Health's survey conducted in November 2024 found that more than a third (36%) of teenagers have tried smoking, reflecting a worsening situation compared to previous findings. Electronic cigarettes have emerged as the leading smoking product among Israeli youth, with about 53% of teenagers who experiment with smoking products starting with e-cigarettes.
"One of the prominent findings from the report relates to the patterns of use of smoking products among teenagers—especially the use of flavored tobacco and nicotine products," said Dr. Sharon Alrai Price, Head of the Public Health Division at the Ministry of Health. "The data in the report, which also present the growing rates of use of electronic cigarettes, serve as a reminder that this is a dangerous product, especially for the youth who are using these cigarettes significantly. Tobacco smoking and its products remain the leading preventable cause of death—a dangerous epidemic whose fight stands at the center of our work for public health."
The report also highlights challenges in enforcement and compliance with anti-smoking laws. Despite laws requiring municipalities in Israel to enforce bans on smoking in public spaces, compliance remains low, with many local authorities failing to appoint inspectors or issue fines. More than 65% of local authorities do not report to the Ministry of Health, as required by law. During the year, training was held for inspectors in only 15 authorities.
Efforts to quit smoking in Israel lag significantly, with cessation rates about 50% lower than the OECD average, occurring at a pace 50% slower than the OECD average. This indicates deeper addiction and significant difficulties in quitting among Israeli smokers.
The Ministry of Health is taking steps to combat the smoking epidemic. Initiatives include school-based education, public awareness efforts, smoking cessation support, and targeted programs for at-risk populations, with a focus on teenagers and high-risk groups. The ministry established a national smoking cessation center that operates free of charge and is working to promote a ban on the sale of single-use vapes for electronic cigarettes and the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes.
"We are taking steps to counter this with stricter policies, higher taxes, and national awareness campaigns," said Bar Siman Tov. "This trend not only fuels nicotine addiction but also drives up traditional cigarette use."
The Israel Cancer Association urged a nationwide, government-backed mobilization to curb smoking, especially among youth. "The cycle of addiction to smoking continues to add new addicts among teenagers and cause health damage to the Israeli public in general. This is a deadly epidemic causing the death of thousands of Israelis. Reducing smoking rates and its harms requires cooperation from all parties, especially government ministries, Knesset members, and local authorities, in order to place at the top of the priorities the fight against the number one preventable cause of death in the world. Against the corporate power of the tobacco and nicotine industry, a nationwide mobilization and investment of government resources is required, and sooner rather than later," the association stated.
The report emphasizes the influence of social media on teenagers' smoking habits. Teenagers who participated in focus groups described how content distributed by influencers affects their decisions to experiment with smoking. Such content sometimes creates a sense of normalization around electronic cigarettes. This is an ongoing social process that requires addressing not only through legislation but also through education, awareness, and proactive action on the networks themselves.
In addition, the report details actions led by the Ministry of Health in the fight against the smoking epidemic, including collaborations with various bodies engaged in the field. The ministry promotes education and awareness, lectures in the community on prevention and smoking cessation, develops educational programs, creates smoke-free environments and organizations, activities in the field of prevention and smoking cessation in local authorities, and works to monitor and tailor actions to special populations.
"The purpose of the report is to raise public awareness of the smoking phenomenon and to highlight the need to combat the phenomenon and its damages," the Ministry of Health stated.
