COM 0972.004 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Name: Phoebe Hono Date: July 15, 2006 Age: 13 Grade: Going into 8th Address: 74- 808 Uluaoa st. Kailua Kona HI 96740 Phone: 557 -9654, 326-1140 E-mail: gophermala@hotmail.com Banning Smoking from Kahalu'u Beach The West Hawaii Youth Fisheries Council would like to ban smoking from Kahalu'u Beach Park. It is an annoyance to people and a hazard to the animals. Kahalu'u beach is known as one of the best snorkeling places on the Big Island. Tourists go there to look at the fish and coral but if people carelessly toss their used cigarettes in the water and sand, some day the fish and coral may not be there. Some of the chemical in cigarettes have been proven to cause cancer and are toxic to fish, echinoderms, crustaceans and other marine animals. If the used cigarette filters go in the water and the toxins go into the animals, eventually the animals will die, leaving Kahalu'u with out any fish or other animals like shrimp and star fish that tourist normally like to look at; resulting in not much of a snorkeling place; resulting in less tourism. Most businesses in Hawaii depend on tourism and with out tourist many people would loose their jobs. People throw their cigarette filters in the sand without even taking notice. If people come to the beach with young children, they can't let their kids play in the sand with the fear of having their children play with or even eat a used cigarette. The U.S.A. Poison Centers receive thousands of calls about children eating tobacco products, such as cigarettes. It is also disturbing when you are walking through the sand and you find that an used cigarette is stuck in between your toes, which, has happened to me many time. A few kids went to Kahalu'u to pick up cigarettes and in thirty minutes time, they picked up 2068 used cigarettes in the sand. It is also a health hazard and an annoyance if you are sitting behind a smoker because you constantly get second hand smoke in your face, and, according to current research, cigarettes contain sixty different chemicals that cause cancer. Cigarettes made up 33% of the trash picked up on Hawaiian beaches during the 2001 International Coastal Cleanup. Also, it is not like they go away quickly, taking an average of 7 years to disintegrate. Other beaches across America have started ban smoking such as Hanama Bay and Solana Beach in California. The West Hawaii Youth Fisheries Council would like to preserve our beach and make Kahalu'u a nonsmoking beach too!