Until today Haifa was often known as "Red Haifa," because it
waved the red flag of the Communist Party. But now another 19
towns and cities have also been defined as "red" in terms of
the percentage of the male population suffering from cancer,
and another 16 towns and cities fall into the same category in
terms of the percentage of the female population suffering
from cancer.
A "red city," according to the geographic mapping report of
malignant diseases, is a place where the disease rate is among
the highest in the country. According to the report, both
lifestyle and environmental factors have a significant effect
on the rate of disease. Leading the list with the highest
rates were Carmiel, Kiryat Yam, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Bialik,
Haifa, Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Nes Tziona, Kiryat
Tivon and Arad.
In Rahat and Netivot, on the other hand, the disease rates
were among the lowest. The report attributes the high cancer
rate in Haifa and the surrounding area to the severe
environmental pollution caused by power plants, refineries,
factories and vehicle emissions.
Cancer experts speculate that there is a direct link between
the pollution emitted from these factories and the risk of
developing cancerous diseases.
The report did not provide a breakdown of the factors behind
the differences in disease rates among the various towns and
cities, but the frequency of malignant diseases is directly
tied to socioeconomic status, with higher cancer rates among
the higher classes.
Place of birth was also directly related to disease rates:
immigrants from Europe and the US were in a higher risk group,
while immigrants from African nations were in a lower risk
group.
