About Smoke Free Israel

Our story, just like our work, is a little different.

In 2016, the late Mr. Avinoam Aramony, Dr. Michal Hamo-Lotam and Ms. Shira Kislve founded Smoke Free Israel Initiative an NGO with an ambitious goal – to completely eradicate it by preventing children and teens’ initial exposure and experimentation with tobacco and nicotine products.

At the beginning, our radical and innovative approach was met with quite a bit of skepticism and raised eyebrows, but following the determined work of our small, diverse and highly professional team, we made progress quickly and today we are happy and proud to be the leading body in the field of smoking prevention in Israel.

For us, an Israel that is healthy and free from tobacco and nicotine products is not a distant utopian vision, but a necessary and life-saving goal that we strive for every day.

What do we do?

Legislation and regulation

We work in a variety of ways to promote relevant regulation, taxation and enforcement. This includes working with and in front of members of the Israeli government, counseling policymakers, taking a direct part in regulatory measures and promoting internal discourse regarding the role of the state and its responsibilities.

Research and Development

We are creating and expanding an applicable, innovative and insightful body of research. This includes active monitoring of the smoking phenomenon in Israel through annual surveys as well as fostering collaborations with various professional bodies in Israel and around the world.

Exposing tobacco and nicotine companies methods of operation

We continuously monitor tobacco and nicotine companies advertising and marketing channels, examining both their overt and covert efforts. We also monitor and expose any attempts they make to influence policy makers in Israel.

Education and information

We are creating a new discourse around prevention and work to update the current definitions and measuring methods accordingly. In addition, we strive to reduce the knowledge gap on the subject directly with the parents – the central figure in the lives of youth and young people, and at the same time we also lead and take part in training courses for educators, medical personnel and more.

Some of our accomplishments

Active participation in the drafting of the Prohibition of Advertising and Restriction of Marketing of Tobacco and Smoking Products law, 5743-1983, participation in the Knesset committee discussions in the leadup to the first, second and third Knesset votes on the legislation, as well as continued involvement as different stages of the law came into effect.

Promoting activities to change definitions and measures of the adolescents and youths smoking phenomenon in Israel in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of education and other professional bodies involved in monitoring smoking in Israel.

Submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice (HCJ 4862/18) against the Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Health through advocate Efy Michaely, protesting the Minister of Health’s refusal to raise taxes on rolling tobacco to the level of cigarette taxes. The High Court Justices unanimously instructed the Minister of Finance to immediately sign the tax order.

Following the activity of the project to eradicate smoking, in 2019 Israel entered the list of countries included in the European Tobacco Control Scale report and in 2020 the Global Tobacco Index.

Accompanying the entry of JUUL into the Israeli market as a case study for content control which resulted in the inclusion of the nicotine limit in all electronic cigarettes to 20 milligrams per milliliter in the Prohibition of Advertising and Restriction of Marketing of Tobacco and Smoking Products law, 5743-1983,.

Prevented an initiative by the Minister of the Interior and the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s office to abolish the business licensing requirement for selling tobacco and smoking products.

Submitted a petition (HCJ 7875/20) through Adv. Efy Michaely against the Minister of Finance and the Ministry of Health challenging the Minister of Finance’s refusal to impose any tax on e-cigarettes. Following the petition, the Minister of Finance signed an e-cigarette taxation order.

Submitted a petition (HCJ 5660/23) through Adv. Efy Michaely against an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary that asked to cancel the Reasonableness Clause. The petition claimed that the amendment would remove the legal protection of public health and in the process would harm the fight against the smoking phenomenon. The High Court Justices unanimously rejected the amendment with a majority of opinions

The Smoke Free Israel Initiative won a World No Tobacco Day 2019 Award from the World Health Organization for its contribution to the fight to eradicate smoking.

We were privileged to be one of the three outstanding associations in the effectiveness research program. A program to promote a culture of donation based on research and evidence of effective altruism.

Team

Our Staff

Shira Kislev
CEO
Orit Lerner
Government Relations and lobbying
Irada Kreimer
Government Relations and lobbying VP
Efy Michaely
Advocate
Ran Yaron
Spokesman
Dganit Platt
Community & content manager
Guide the way
Social media

Executive Committee

Dr. Tal Elmaliach
Chairman of the Executive Committee
Moshe (Mayshe) Schreiber
Member of the Executive Committee
Dubi Bartov
Member of the Executive Committee
Jonathan Jaglom
Member of the Executive Committee
Neta Ben-Yitzhak
Member of the Executive Committee

Founders

Avinoam Armoni
Founder and first board chairman
Dr. Michal Hemmo - Lotem
Founder

Smoke Free Israel is proud to be a member of international organizations

ידע זה כוח

רוצה מידע עדכני, אמין ומתוקף על מוצרי הטבק והניקוטין שמפתים את הילדים ובני הנוער ועל התעשייה המניפולטיבית שמאחוריהם?

חשוב לך לדעת מה אומרים החוקים, המחקרים ואיך להתמודד עם המצב המורכב הזה באופן יעיל?

אנחנו מזמינים אותך להצטרף לניוזלטר שלנו ולהישאר עם האצבע על הדופק.