COM 0942.149 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DATE: April 20, 2008 TO: Council Chairman Pete Hof mane & Council Members Hawaii County Council FR: Zaysha Desha, REAL member RE: WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 224 (in its current form) Relating To Smoking in Certain Places in the County of Hawaii Motion to Reconsider and Override Veto, Public Hearing Tuesday, April 22, 2008 My name is Zaysha Desha and I am a member of REAL. REAL is a statewide youth led movement against the tobacco industry. I strongly support Bill 224 and commend the County Council for moving this visionary measure forward in its current form. I applaud you for showing true leadership and vision in passing Bill 224. I strongly urge you continue to show your leadership and override Mayor Kim's veto. I want Hawaii County to be a clean and healthy place for my family and I to enjoy. Bill 224 will protect my right to breathe clean air at all County of Hawaii parks, beaches and recreational facilities. I am in support of this Bill passing because smoking and its chemicals are not good for our environment. Outdoor tobacco smoke has been declared a toxic air pollutant by the California EPA. Scientists have tested the toxicity of outdoor tobacco smoke and have concluded that it is as harmful as indoor second-hand smoke, especially for asthmatic children and adults and those suffering from COPD, like emphysema. These individuals put themselves in harms way every time they visit a public place, and get a whiff of tobacco smoke. Visiting our parks, beaches and recreational facilities should be a pleasurable and safe experience for all. Discarded cigarettes and cigar butts at our parks and beaches are unsightly, unclean and particularly hazardous to small children and wildlife. A child putting a toxic cigarette butt into their mouth should not be part of that experience. Cigarettes and their packaging is number one litter item on our island. Cigarette butts are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic, which is estimated to take up to 25 years to decompose on land and in the sand. It takes a cigarette butt 5 years to decompose in the ocean. Cigarette butts can pose a deadly threat to wildlife. Indigestible cigarette filters have been found in the stomachs of sea turtles, fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures who mistake them for food, swallowing harmful plastic and toxic chemicals. Despite progress made in successfully legislating indoor tobacco smoke in workplaces, our keiki continue to be exposed to the hazards of second- hand smoke in public places. Second-hand smoke is a Class-A carcinogen - same as asbestos - there are no safe levels of exposure. Last year, Kahalu'u Beach Park in Kona went smoke-free let's do the same for the rest of the island. Passing Bill 224 will make visiting all County parks and beaches a more pleasurable experience. In conclusion I am in support of Bill 224 because I hate all the littering that comes from smoking. Second hand smoke it a known health and environmental hazard. The public's