"A historic day in the war against smoking." So states the Israel Cancer Association, after the Knesset Economics Committee approved new, stricter guidelines regarding warning messages that must be printed on cigarette packages. The new rules were prepared by a team representing the Health Ministry, the Israel Cancer Association, and other health organizations.
In addition to new phraseology, the warning must now take up 30% of the area of each side of the package. It must appear in both Hebrew and Arabic, with a large red and black exclamation point graphic, and with alternating phraseologies. One new warning will read, "Warning. Medical studies show that cigarette smoke is dangerous to your children's health."
Another new rule is that terms such as "lite" and "mild" cannot be used on the cigarette packages. "Using such terms is a deceit that has claimed many victims," the Israel Cancer Association says. "The so-called 'lites' are just as dangerous, if not more so, than the regular ones."