COM 0942.108 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Murashige, Laura From: Hannah Hedrick [hedrickhneca@aol.com] -D Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 9:56 AM To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us 2005 ~IflR 11 11 Q3 Subject: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 224 Hawai?i County Council _,0UNT1 Relating To Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Places Council hearing: March 12, 2008 TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 224, Relating to Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Places PO Box 298, Mountain View, HI, 96771 (808) 968-7013 TO: Councilman Donald Ikeda, Chair, Councilman J Yoshimoto, Vice-Chair, and Members, Committee on Public Safety and Parks and Recreation FROM: Hannah L. Hedrick, PhD SUBJECT: Bill 224 Relating to Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Places DATE: March 12, 2008 Aloha, Chair Ikeda, Vice-Chair Yoshimoto, and Members: My name is Hannah Hedrick. I want to thank the Council members who have taken a strong stand in support of Bill 224. I especially thank those, such as Mr. Pilago, who have suggested mechanisms for supporting smokfree county park and recreational areas, such as prohibiting tobacco sales and strengthening litter ordinances. Please do not allow a small group of vocal individuals, most of whom are unfortunately addicted to nicotine or fearful of personal financial loss, to Hawai?i County in the unfortunate position of ignoring a clear and present danger to the health of our most vulnerable residents. Most smokers I know do not want their children to be exposed to secondhand smoke, as they would be if Mayor Kim and others prevail in amending Bill 224 to provide for ?designated smoking areas? as a viable compromise. Legal, historic, and public health issues argue against creating smoking areas, especially in the vicinity of people with compromised lung function or children. The Americans with Disabilities Act is being increasingly applied as protection against smoke in multiple unit housing; most designated smoking area provisions have been removed; and designated smoking areas even in relatively open areas (such as airports) have been recognized as threats to passersby. My father died in agony from preventable tobacco-related diseases when I was 20. I now live in Fern Forest in Upper Puna, where smoking rates are the highest in the State. I am a member of several groups that promote cleaning up our environment, including state and country smoke-free organizations, the Hawai?i Asthma Initiative, the Puna Community Development Plan Land Use Work Group, and the Community Development Hui of Fern Forest. I am a long-time ?smoke free advocate,? having worked during the 1980s and early 1990s with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, MD, and former surgeon generals to spread the word about the devastating dangers of exposure to tobacco products. During the same period, we improved the civil rights of people with disabling diseases and conditions, who are particularly vulnerable to tobacco addiction and to adverse reactions to primary, second hand, and residual smoke. A decade of advocating for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CORD) increased my commitment to protecting people with impaired lung function. Our most vulnerable citizens, including infants and children (particularly those with asthma) and seniors (particularly those with tobacco-related diseases) cannot fully participate in our "paradise" if they cannot go to County parks and beaches without risking a smoke-related exacerbation. James Repace?s ?Measurements of Outdo r } : 'O 1 Comm NO z d Ref. To-.