2023-05-28 22:13:13
According to the data known in the medical world, about 80% of lung cancer patients are smokers or ex-smokers. The vast majority of them started smoking at a young age, in the years when the awareness of the harms of smoking and the long-term consequences were less known among wide audiences. Every year on May 31, “No Smoking Day” is celebrated around the world, this day is designed to encourage 24 hours of abstinence from all types of tobacco.
Dr. Shani Sheila, CEO of the Israeli Lung Cancer Association, says that “No one deserves to get lung cancer. Today, thanks to new treatments that can save lives, it is possible to give hope to patients. The fact that people got addicted to smoking in their youth does not deprive them of The right to live and recover from the serious illness.”
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According to her, many of the smokers grew up in a social climate that did not put smoking out of bounds. “The people who are now dealing with the disease are those who in their youth became addicted without knowing the future damage. In addition, the state earns a lot of money from tobacco taxes, therefore it should mobilize to help and make advanced treatments accessible to patients.”
Together with the lung cancer association, the patients dealing with the disease appeal to the decision makers: “The work that we were addicted to smoking does not mean that we deserve to get lung cancer.” A large variety of treatments and new medicines are available on the shelf today and allow patients to deal with the disease in an easier way, increase the chances of recovery and give hope and optimism to patients and their families.
Activity to prevent smoking in Israel
From the data of the recently released Ministry of Health report, it appears that the smoking rate among the adult population in Israel is 20.1%, the smoking rate among men is higher than the rate among women with 25.6% compared to 14.8% among women.
In Israel, the Ministry of Health works to coordinate all the bodies involved in the field of smoking prevention in Israel. As part of the activity, the office promotes collaborations with the various bodies involved in the field and is involved in various levels of action, such as education and outreach, developing educational programs, creating smoke-free environments and organizations, training inspectors in the field of smoking enforcement, and more.
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The Ministry of Health cooperates with other government ministries in the field of smoking prevention, including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, the Civil Service Commission, as well as with the local government. There are also collaborations with civil society organizations in the field of smoking prevention, reducing the phenomenon of smoking and raising awareness of the harms of smoking.
A broad coalition of organizations has been operating for several years in an organized manner in the field of smoking prevention and cessation in Israel and has an important part in the success of policy promotion in this field in Israel. The Ministries of Health and Education are also partners in the activities of the coalition, which includes, among others, the Healthy Cities Network, the Association to Fight Cancer, the four health funds, the Medical Association and the Medical Society for Smoking Prevention and Quitting, the Association of Public Health Physicians, the Smoking Eradication Initiative, the Israeli Association of Health Promoters and Educators, ” Like me”, the Ashkelon Academic College, the Hebrew University, the Israeli Council for the Prevention of Smoking, a number of local authorities and civil society organizations and other public bodies.
In the ranking of the European Cancer Society, Israel reached the respectable seventh place with 61 points, when only 7 countries received a score of over 60 points.
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