COM 0942.022 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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TO: Donald Ikeda, Chairperson Date: February 5, 2008 County Council Committee Members Public Safety and Parks and Recreation Committee FR: Juan Moncada Chair, Tobacco-Free Big Island RE: WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 224, Relating To Smoking in Certain Places in the County of Hawaii Public Hearing on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, 9:30 a.m. Committee on Public Safety and Parks and Recreation Aloha, my name is Juan Moncada, Chair of Tobacco-Free Big Island Coalition. Our county-wide group of concerned volunteers and I strongly support passage of Bill 224. Our partners work with youth and adults of all ages in our community to help people who want to conquer their smoking addiction. Tobacco is not native to these islands and its colonial footprint continues to be felt today in both financial and emotional hardships for many families. Further, the pollution from cigarette butts, non- degrading filters and leached chemicals erode our fragile island shoreline ecosystem. Smoking tobacco is the most avoidable cause of death in our society. Our children are not born smoking - they learn it from others. Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to contract heart disease. Lung, larynx, esophageal, bladder, pancreatic, and kidney cancers also strike smokers at increased rates. Some 30 percent of cancer deaths are linked to smoking. Chronic, obstructive lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis are 10 times more likely to occur among smokers than among nonsmokers. Hawaii has the highest rate of asthma of any state in the nation, particularly serious for young children. Smoking during pregnancy also poses serious risks. Spontaneous abortion, preterm birth, low birth weights, and fetal and infant deaths are all more likely to occur when the pregnant woman is a smoker. Passive smoking is the process that causes non-smokers to inhale smoke involuntarily. Some of the smoke they inhale is known as "side-stream smoke"-the smoke that smolders off the end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. This smoke has neither passed through a filter nor through the lungs of a smoker and is therefore extremely potent, containing more tar, nicotine, particles, and gases than inhaled smoke. Side-stream smoke can cause respiratory distress, infections and allergic reactions, as well as lung cancer. Young children and the elderly are the most vulnerable to health problems caused by exposure to tobacco smoke. We respectfully request the elected County Council protect the most vulnerable of our residents - the children who play in our County parks and on our beaches. Please accept this as written testimony in support of this bill. Sincerely, Juan Moncada, Chair of Tobacco-Free Big Island Coalition 200 Kanoelehua Avenue #228, Phone: 808-936-4121 Hilo, HI 96720 Email: moncadaj001@hawaii.rr.com