Professor Manuel Trachtenberg, who heads Israel’s National Economics Council, says Israel can and should eradicate smoking entirely – and that the IDF is the place to start.
“Turning Israel into a country without smoking is an attainable goal,” Trachtenberg told a conference on medical development at Haifa’s Technion last week.
Prof. Trachtenberg proposed that army service, a time when many Israelis traditionally take up smoking, begin to play a central role in reducing smoking among the Israeli public. “The defeat of smoking is a process that requires enormous investment, not necessarily of money, but of organization and determination. The IDF, as a hierarchal body through which most of Israel’s youth passes, is an excellent institution to begin this revolution.”
The professor, whose National Economics Council acts as an advisory body to the Prime Minsiter, gave a background explanation as to why the war on smoking is so critical. “In the twentieth century, the medical field underwent a great revolution which lengthened the human life expectancy and developed advanced drugs and medical solutions. This revolution was the result of demand – the requirement of advanced medical services and the supply and abilities of advanced technologies in general. The American National Institutes of Health (NIH), which leads the field, enjoys a budget of $8 billion – half that of NASA.
“That said, despite the fact that science has succeeded wonderfully against old diseases, it has a hard time up against diseases stemming from our modern life – mainly smoking and obesity. This is the reason that we must put an emphasis today on prevention – on the struggle against harmful public habits, the maximal reduction of smoking and obesity.”
Prof. Trachtenberg said that cutting smoking would not only extend the lives of smokers, but would positively affect those who would be exposed to their second-hand smoke, and free up money for other medical projects currently used to treat and medicate smoking-victims. “If we succeed in making Israel smoke-free, there will be massive health benefits to the entire populace,” he promised.