MK Yehudah Glick embarks on anti-smoking hunger strike
The hunger strike will coincide with the Knesset’s no-smoking day on Tuesday.
By GIL HOFFMANUpdated: JUNE 11, 2018 22:39Likud MK Yehudah Glick(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Likud MK Yehudah Glick announced from the Knesset podium on Monday night that he was beginning a hunger strike on Tuesday to protest the lack of taxes on rolling tobacco.In his speech, Glick noted that female MKs asked for a moment of silence for four women killed by domestic violence. He said there should also be a moment of silence for 3,000 Israelis who he said have been killed by diseases caused by tobacco since the beginning of the year.Glick said he has been begging Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon for months to tax rolling tobacco the same way that cigarettes are taxed, but Kahlon had not taken action.“The time has come to take our gloves off and fight hypocrisy,” Glick said. “Children in eighth and ninth grade are buying tobacco instead of Bamba. But Kahlon is taking our children hostage for political considerations.”The hunger strike will coincide with the Knesset’s no-smoking day on Tuesday, which will be held under the banner “Israel is healthier without smoking.”As part of the day, the Knesset Economics Committee will discuss Glick’s bill to outlaw tobacco advertisements and relevant government ministries will report their anti-smoking efforts to the Knesset Committee on Fighting Drugs and Alcohol.