Starting Sunday: Warning images required on all smoking products

Starting this Sunday, Israel will require graphic warning images on all smoking products, following legislation approved after a lengthy process. The Cancer Society reports that 84% of the public support the move, and that smoking causes about 12,386 deaths per year in Israel.

Starting this Sunday, Israel will join about 140 countries that require graphic warnings on smoking product packaging. This was reminded today (Wednesday) by the Cancer Society. The law, which underwent a lengthy legislative process of over two decades, requires that images illustrating the harms of smoking cover 75% of the packaging surface of all tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, hookahs, rolling tobacco, and nicotine pouches. Alongside the warning, a referral to the national quitline and health funds will appear. The remainder of the packaging will remain in the dark brown color defined as "the ugliest color in the world." Marketing products without warnings will be a criminal offense, with fines of up to 452,000 shekels for corporations. The Ministry of Health noted that the warnings were formulated taking into account cultural and religious characteristics. The CEO of the Cancer Society, Moshe Bar-Haim, called the move "a landmark and very dramatic milestone" and emphasized that the images could save lives. A survey by the society shows that 84% of the public support the graphic warnings. The survey also shows that the smoking rate in Israel stands at 24%, and that 76% of smokers want to quit. The survey was conducted in May 2026 by Ipsos among 565 men and women.