Israel Can Do No Right? Ask the Hookah

Israel can't win in the media.

It tries sincerely to care for the health of not only its own citizens but those under its administrative supervision in Judea and Samaria and still the story is spun in a negative fashion, even if the moral basis is included in the story, far down the column:

Rising Tobacco Prices Cause Stir in West Bank

Mustafa Jum'a, who runs a coffee shop in Ramallah in the West Bank, began to worry about his business as the prices for hookah smoke rise due to an extra tariff imposed on tobacco.

Israeli authorities suddenly raised import tariffs on tobacco, a move the Palestinians have to follow because of the Paris Economic Protocol signed with Israel in 1994, which states the two must have bond import tariffs in the light with the unified customs framework.

The rise has caused a reduction of customers, said Jum'a, adding most of his customers are public employees that used to come to the coffee shop twice or three times a day. "(They) now come here only once, if not every other day," he said.

The hookah price in Jum'a's coffee shop has risen from seven shekels (around 1.8 U.S. dollars) to 12 shekels (3.4 dollars). He made money when hookah smokers order tea, coffee or other drink, so now he makes less profit due to the reduction of customers.

Head of the tobacco customs department in the Ministry of Finance Bandi Dahdah said the new customs tariff requires the payment of 279 shekels (73 dollars) per kilogram, compared with the previous 50 shekels (13 dollars). Since the best tobaccos are imported from Egypt and Bahrain, almost all hookah smokers are affected by the new regulation...

Sounds almost evil.

However...

the Ministry of Health welcomed the decision, Dahdah said, noting the health ministry hopes the move would encourage smokers to quit smoking. According to an official study, the number of smokers in the Palestinian territories are estimated at 800,000.

"My young children smoke hookah, even my 16-year-old child smokes behind my back. I hope this decision will help them get rid of it," said Nadia Karim, a 45-year-old mother in Bethlehem.

Go easy on the smoke.

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