A new study conducted at the Hebrew University shows that the tobacco company Philip Morris has published advertisements for cigarette use at a high rate among ultra-Orthodox society, relative to other minority populations in Israel.
According to the research data, which Dikla Aharon Shafran revealed today (Thursday) on the B network, since IQOS cigarettes for heating tobacco entered the Israeli market, 216 advertisements have been published that are targeted at specific populations: 55% of which were intended for the ultra-Orthodox society, 6% for the Arab society, and the rest were intended for the Russian-speaking population.
In addition, from December 2016 to August 2020, 561 advertisements for regular cigarettes were published for specific populations. Of these, 87% were targeted at the ultra-Orthodox community, 4.3% at the Arab community, and the remainder at the Russian-speaking population.
The study was conducted by doctoral student Amal Hayat, led by Dr. Yael Bar Zeev from the School of Public Health at the Hebrew University.
Dr. Bar Zeev, chairman of the Medical Society for Smoking Prevention and Cessation at the Israeli Medical Association, charged that according to the study's findings, despite the legislation banning advertising, tobacco companies continue to spend huge sums of money in order to attract additional target audiences, and that they may be focusing on specific populations such as the Haredi population.
Bar Ze'ev further said that studies around the world show that tobacco companies tend to target advertising specifically to populations of low socioeconomic status, which increases and significantly contributes to the inequality in the health of these populations.
According to a 2020 report by the Minister of Health, the smoking rate among Arab men is more than 381% compared to 22.51% among Jewish men. Regarding the ultra-Orthodox population, no dedicated survey has been conducted for this population in recent years.
The last dedicated survey was a decade ago, and showed a smoking rate of almost 141% among Haredi men.
According to Ministry of Health data, approximately 8,000 people die in Israel each year as a result of the harms of smoking. Approximately 101% of them are as a result of exposure to forced smoking.
Philip Morris Ltd. reported: "The company's vision for a 'smoke-free future' is to stop selling cigarettes, in as many markets around the world as possible. The right choice is not to start smoking - or to quit. At the same time, we believe that those who continue to smoke deserve less harmful alternatives.
""That's why we have invested significant resources in scientific research and development of reduced-exposure products as alternatives to cigarette smoking. Thanks to the determination and perseverance of hundreds of scientists, engineers and technicians, and an investment of more than $9 billion in science-based innovation, we are on track to realize this vision.".
""These efforts were recognized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when the company's products received marketing authorization in the United States with the information that 'scientific studies have shown that a complete transition from conventional cigarettes to IQOS significantly reduces the body's exposure to harmful chemicals.' Today, nearly 19 million adult smokers worldwide use groundbreaking, smokeless products developed by us. The vast majority of them (13.5 million) have completely stopped smoking cigarettes.".
""Regarding the manner in which our products are marketed, as in other areas of our activity, we operate according to law and under extremely strict self-regulation. The company advertises in accordance with Israeli law, which permits the advertising of its products (both during the research period and today), and even reports this to the Ministry of Health as required by law.".
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