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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0746.046 2000-2002 a 4 HAWAI'I STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HawaN County Council County of Hawal`i Bill for An (Ordinance to Amend Chapter 14, (General Welfare) of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (1995 Edition), As Amended, Relating to Smoking in Certain Places in the County of Hawaii Testimony of Bruce S. Anderson .0 oc V' ev. 7 Director of Health hm-. j . y ,m iu y November 26, 2002 Purpose: This measure proposes to amend Chapter 14, Article 4, of County of Hawai'i Code, Relating to Smoking in Certain Places within the County of Hawaii, including restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and bowling alleys, supermarkets, common areas, any enclosed or partially enclosed area or building owned, leased, operated or maintained by the County (except residential dwellings), vehicles owned or leased by the County, and private residences licensed for child care, adult day care or health care facility. Department's Position: The Department of Health supports the proposed bill which would provide protections for all employees and the genera public from the hazardous effects of environmental tobacco smoke. We support the principle of increasing the number of smoke-free workplaces and our goal is to create smoke-free workplaces for all employees. Our experience in Hawaii has been that incremental change has been the most effective in attaining this goal. ImIuding bars in this measure at this time may be too ambitious and would not be consistent with current community norms. Results of the Department of Health 2001 statewide Adult Tobacco Survey indicate that eight in ten adults in both East and West Hawaii would strongly support a county law protecting non-smoking employees in the workplace. More than 430,000 Americans and 1,200 people in Hawaii die each year from tobacco related causes. In han all of the Hawaii, cigarette smoking causes more premature deaths each year, (before the age of 65), treYrrl. No. 16 ioa File No. tre at Fief. To: S Ref. Da NOV 2 6 2002 BIB for An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 14 of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (199: Edition) November 26, 2002 Page 2 of 3 following causes of death together: AIDS, drug abuse, alcohol, and all unintentional injury (motor veheclc, drowning, and falls) as well as all intentional injury (suicide and homicide). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified secondhand smoke as a Class A carcinogen, the same cancer causing agent as asbestos and benzene. Nationally, secondhand smoke is responsible for 53,000 deaths annually, 3,000 of those are from lung cancer, and the other are from cardiovascular disease, other respiratory diseases, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and fires. Exposure to secondhand smoke increases the frequency of episodes and severity of symptoms in asthmatic children and adults. There is also a shared economic impact. Smoking costs $130 billion a year nationwide and $328 million in Hawaii in medical care and lost porker productivity. Exposure to secondhand smoke is three to five times as great in restaurants as compared to the typical workplace without smoking restrictions. Waiters and waitresses are one and a half to two times as likely to die from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke than most other workers. JAl12A, 1993. Restaurants that have separate smoking and nonsmoking sections cannot eliminate exposure to the toxins from secondhand smoke. CDC, 1993. The EPA has determird that secondhand smoke cannot be reduced to safe levels in businesses by high rates of ventilation; therefore air cleaners, which are only capable of filtering the particulate matter and odors in smoke, do not eliminate the known toxins in secondhand smoke. Numerous scientific studies: based on restaurant sales tax receipts prove that smoke-free restaurant ordinances have no negative effect en restaurant sales. Over 400 municipalities across the country, now including Honolulu, Maui and most recently Kauai, as well as California, Vermont, Utah, Maine, and Delaware, have successfully enacted clean indoor air ordinances to eliminate smoking in restaurants. We commend the Hawaii County Council for developing a comprehensive bill to create the best possible community standard for the people of Hawaii. We encourage passage of a bill that will provide significant public health protections to improve indoor air quality in all workplaces which would advance the Hawaii Bill for An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 14 of the axai`i County Code 1983 (1995 Edition) November 26, 2002 Page 3 of 3 County Council's record of promoting and protecting the public's health in moving Hawaii forward towards becoming the "The Health State". Thank you for this opportunity to testify.