HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0013.189 2002-2004
TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 260, Draft 3
June 18, 2003
To: Council Chair James Arakiki and Council Members,
Hawaii County
My name is Chris Dein-Gaughen, coordinator of Hawaii Island Tobacco-Free
Partnership, West Hawaii Unit. I am testifying in support of Bill 260, Draft 3, which
protects all workers in the workplace, including restaurants (indoors and outdoors),
bars, nightclubs, and bowling alleys.
Studies rank secondhand smoke as the third leading cause of preventable death
in the United States, after active smoking and alcohol use, with an estimated
53,000 deaths annually. Secondhand smoke is classified aGroup Acarcinogen - a
substance known to cause cancer in humans. According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, workers exposed to secondhand smoke are 34%
more likely to get lung cancer. These facts cannot be ignored when considering
Bill 260.
Bill 260 is a worker's protection issue! Bar and restaurant workers have a right not to
work in an environment where the very air they breathe causes cancer!
Government already has laws in place that require restaurant owners to meet
health standards (such as not serving contaminated foodsj. This is just another
health issue, a protection of worker's health!
Most of us believe in the idea of self-determination, the idea that we decide for
ourselves which risks we are willing to take. Smokers have every right to smoke, but
they do not have a right to put other people at risk as a result of their own choices.
All freedoms must be balanced with the understanding that one's liberties do not
infringe on others. An example is that while adults have the privilege to retain a
driver's license, that privilege is contingent upon the person driving in a way that
does not endanger others. Smokers, nor business owners, have the right to
jeopardize the health of the public or employees.
As counsel members, you necessarily have a vested interest in the welfare of the
general public and must place it above individual "freedoms" which are
damaging to the public's welfare. ALL WORKERS deserve protection in the
workplace from the hazards of secondhand smoke; please pass Bitl 260, Draft 3.
Sincerely,
Chris Dein-Gaughen
P.O. Box 385203
Waikoloa, HI 96738
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