HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0593.016 2022-2024 P/Pais
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From: Kim Dempsey
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2023 8:15 PM
To: Council Testimony t-,
Subject: Bill 102
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Aloha c. -71
Please accept this as my written support to end the sale of flavored tobacco products in Hawaii County1,0
I could stop with the following"talking points":
•39.7% of teens in Hawaii County tried e-cigarettes, surpassing the Hawaii (32.4%) and national
(36.2%) results.
•Flavors in tobacco products entice youth,while the nicotine keeps them hooked for life. In 2020, 8 in 10 youth
who currently use e-cigarettes reported using a flavored product, up from 7 in 10 in 2019 (National Youth
Tobacco Survey). Ending the sale of flavored tobacco products will reduce the appeal of these products and
protect our keiki from a lifetime of addiction.
•Menthol is just as, if not more, harmful than any other flavor in tobacco. Notorious for its ability to mask the
harshness of tobacco, menthol makes it easier to start and harder to quit. If our aim is to protect our keiki and
reduce the burden of tobacco in our communities,we must include menthol.
•Ending the sale of all flavored tobacco will advance health equity—disparities in tobacco use are due to the
tobacco industry's history of marketing menthol cigarettes to youth and people of color. In Hawaii, 78%of
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander smokers use menthol cigarettes(Hawai'i BRFSS, 2008). Mint and
menthol-flavored e-cigarettes are the most popular flavors among youth.
•Flavored products are driving this epidemic, where 85,of youth e-cigarette users use flavored products.
•Big Tobacco knows that in order to have customers for life,they need to addict kids to nicotine when they are
young.
•At the local level, over 360 localities restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products.
However, I will set those points aside and speak to you from an educators point of view.
I am a 6th grade teacher and the number of 6th graders that start middle school already vaping, and addicted, continues
to rise. I firmly stand that we are in a different type of pandemic. It's not a virus, it's an addiction. Kids are vaping in
elementary;the curiosity soon turns to addiction.
•
Many would argue that vaping is not a gateway. I have seen otherwise. Students start with vaping, move on to
marijuana fairly quickly,then are at risk for trying and becoming addicted to illegal, more dangerous drugs.
The brains of adolescents are developing and don't have the full capacity for reasoning and impulse control.As they
become more immune to the stimulating impact of vaping, they look for the "next thing".
Stopping the sale of flavored tobacco products has the potential of having a drastic impact on our youth. Let's place a
roadblock on the roadway to addiction. Stand up for our youth and the health of our community.
With gratitude for the opportunity to share my thoughts, mahalo. Al I
Comm. No.
Respectfully, Ref. To: ) 1
slain
Ref. Date _C o 5 2023
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Kim Dempsey
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