FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – For the first time, Israel will require graphic health warnings on smoking product packages, the Health Ministry announced this week.
The new warning images will include ventilated patients, a smoking skull, and a burning heart, among others.
The mandate, set to take effect within months, will apply to various smoking products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, hookahs, and chewing tobacco. Israel will be one of the first countries in the world to require combined graphic and written health warnings on e-cigarettes.
Additionally, referrals for smoking cessation through the ministry’s and health maintenance organizations’ cessation centers will be mandatory on the labels.
Israeli Health Minister Uriel Buso emphasized that the mandatory labeling is a crucial step to reduce the attractiveness of smoking products, raise public awareness, and prevent tobacco and nicotine addiction among the younger generation.