COM 0942.025 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ply Murashige, Laura From: Don Weisman [don.weisman@heart.org] Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 11:01 AM To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us Subject: Please vote to support Bill 224. 20 FE B S AID 8 47 To: Hawai?i County Council C01A, Re: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 224 COUN7i' " il- }-r.:VWJJ Relating To Prohibition of Smoking In Certain Places Council hearing: February 5, 2008 February [date], 2008 My name is Don Weisman, Hawaii Communications and Marketing/Government Affairs Director for the American Heart Association, and I strongly support Bill 224, which would prohibit using tobacco products at all County of Hawai?i parks and beaches. I must commend the Council for addressing this important issue. As you already know, smoking is hazardous to health. Because of this health risk the State enacted one of the strongest secondhand smoking-law in the nation prohibiting smoking in virtually all workplaces and in enclosed and partially enclosed public places. However, smoking is still permitted in nearly all parks and beach parks within the State, and on the Big Island. Our keiki continue to be endangered to the hazards of secondhand smoke. ETS contains the same toxic substances as the smoke inhaled by smokers (mainstream smoke). Of the more than 4,000 chemicals in ETS (including nicotine, formaldehyde, cyanide, arsenic, carbon monoxide, methane, asbestos, ammonia and benzene), at least 40 are considered carcinogens. Many of these toxins are actually found in higher concentrations in ETS than they are in mainstream smoke. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992. ? Respiratory Health Effects of Passive Smoking: Lung Cancer and Other Disorders.?] The EPA has classified ETS as a Class A carcinogen (known human carcinogen) containing asbestos and benzene. [EPA, 1992] Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and death. ETS exposure results in about 35,000 deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) among nonsmokers each year. [American Heart Association?s Council on Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care, 1992; American Heart Association, ?Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics ? 2003 Update?] ETS increases the risk of coronary events by about 300. [?Immediate Reduction in Acute Myocardial Infarctions After the Implementation of a Comprehensive Smokefree Ordinance?, Presented to the 52nd Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology, March 30 ? April 2, 20031 Epidemiological evidence linking ETS to coronary heart disease, stroke and atherosclerotic disease has been mounting since 1984. [Glantz and Pamley, 1991] Nonsmokers absorb approximately to of the nicotine that active smokers absorb and experience as much as 50% of an active smoker?s increased risk for heart disease. [Law et al., 1997] Inhaling ETS from just one cigarette actually increases the growth rate of plaque the buildup of fatty substances on artery walls that leads to arterial hardening and blockages. [Penn et al., 1994] ETS increases the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (good) cholesterol by 7% to 90. [Feldman at al., 1991; Moskowitz et al., 1999; Mizoue et al., 1999] Exposing a spouse to ETS from 20 cigarettes a day results in a 58% increased risk of heart attack. [Rosenlund, 2001] Exposure to ETS impairs cardiac performance, especially in heart attack survivors. ETS exposure decreases time to exhaustion in aerobic activity and increases post-exercise recovery time for everyone. [Leone et al., 1991; Glantz and Parmley, 1995] 1 Gomm. No z ~ Ref. To, 3 L Ref. Dote FEB 0 5 MR