Non-smokers demand smokers respect right to clean air

Eighty-three percent of older people said they are not willing to be exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Smoking cigarette 370 (photo credit: Daniel Munoz/Reuters)
Smoking cigarette 370
(photo credit: Daniel Munoz/Reuters)
The vast majority of people over 65 want the government and local authorities to enforce no-smoking laws much more forcefully, according to a poll by Zeta Tooks to mark World No Smoking Day, which was held on May 31. Eighty-three percent of older people said they are not willing to be exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke.
The representative poll, commissioned by the non-profit Motke website for older people, queries 450 people who said they themselves do not smoke. The poll, with a +/- 3% margin of error, found that 63% of them don’t hesitate to complain to smokers when they break the law. Eighty-six percent said it bothers them when someone smokes nearby. Half said that the laws and regulations that were implemented in recent years affects smokers for the better and and improves their behavior so they do not violate non-smokers’ rights. However, 23% said that the laws have had little effect on smokers.
Motke, the non-profit website initiated by former Sheba Medical Center director and Health Ministry director-general Prof. Mordechai Shani for adults over the age of 50, includes forums on quality of life and health.