Yehuda Glick: Government is owned by Big Tobacco

Maverick MK accuses MKs of working for special interests after his bill banning tobacco advertising was torpedoed.

Tzvi Lev ,

Yehuda Glick
Yehuda Glick
Miriam Alster/Flash90

Likud MK Yehuda Glick charged that the government is beholden to Big Tobacco after the ministerial committee for legislation scuttled his bill on Sunday that would have banned advertising for tobacco products.

The bill would have prohibited advertising all types of tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes of all kinds. Though it would include mailing lists, it would exclude printed newspapers. However, these newspapers would be required to print an anti-smoking ad of the same size alongside the tobacco advertisement.

The decision to torpedo the bill enraged Glick, who alleged that the government had succumbed to the interests of the media, who would have lost considerable sums from the loss of tobacco advertising, and the major tobacco companies.

"The Israeli government is addicted to, bought by, and works for the tobacco companies," charged Glick. "The government never intended to approve the law. The postponement of the smoking products bill in the ministerial committee, after the law passed through my committee for first reading, is crossing a dangerous red line of government service for tobacco tycoons."

Glick has made fighting smoking a major cause of his in the Knesset and recently ended a 25-day hunger strike he said was designed to pressure the government into raising taxes on rolling tobacco, which cause significantly less than regular cigarettes.

According to Glick, "8,000 people die every year in Israel from smoking and all of our children will continue to hear from the government how much smoking is fashionable and cool. The government makes various excuses as it tramples the Knesset. Woe to that shame, Minister of Justice and Minister of Health This is a mark of disgrace on your forehead. "