Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and the toll the respiratory disease has taken both globally and nationally across Israel, the percentage of Israelis hasn’t lowered since 2018, according to a Health Ministry report on smoking in Israel, released on Sunday.

The study, submitted to the Knesset by the Health Ministry in accordance with the Mandatory report on the Health Damage Caused by Smoking Tobacco Products, found that 20% of the Israeli population smoked some form of a tobacco product in 2019, a rate similar to that of 2018 (19.1%) . The percentage was higher compared to the year 2017 (18.9%), and lower than 2016.