HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0393.165 2012-2014 COMM CLEPIC
COUNTY OF Man
Time 1,1:30,A1 By
Date To/T5//3
My name is Cynthia Waymegwance. I am an educator of 30-some years, a nationally certified
Licensed Acupuncturist, an organic farmer, and a mother, whose children and grandchildren all
live on this island. I am support passing Bill 113, immediately, ,.ic-4t Z. Cv�
I am representing myself. However, I wish to reference my position as a Board Member on the
Hilo-Hamakua Community Development Council, and the conversations that are occurring with
fellow Board Member, Richard Ha, who is bombarding the community with professionally made
media-links that say things like, "No one has ever been hurt by GMO foods".
I remember when I was 5 years old, my Dad went to the hospital. He was VERY sick. The
doctors removed 2/3 of his stomach and told him to "stop smoking cigarettes". My Dad's
operation was in 1955.
I remember my Dad's friends, offering cigarettes to my Dad after that, saying, "Bill,that's hog-
wash. Cigarettes don't hurt you!" There was no definitive PROOF at that point that cigarettes
were harmful.....just the beginnings of research, and development of patterns that the more
insightful and aware doctors were noticing.
It was not until 1965, ten years later, that the warning label was put on packages of cigarettes.
The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-92)
required that the warning "Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your
Health" be placed in small print on one of the side panels of each cigarette
package. The act prohibited additional labeling requirements at the federal, state,
or local levels.
Two years later, in 1967 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its first report
to Congress recommending that the warning label be changed to "Warning:
Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Health and May Cause Death from Cancer
and Other Diseases."
In 1969, a law was enacted which prohibited cigarette advertising on television and
radio and required that each cigarette package contain the label "Warning: The
Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your
Health."
It was not until the 1980's that Congress enacted the Comprehensive Smoking
Education Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-474), which required four specific health
warnings on all cigarette packages and advertisements:
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart
Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Quitting Smoking Now Greatly Reduces
Serious Risks to Your Health.
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Smoking by Pregnant Women May
Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight.
Comm. No. • / S
Ref. To: i'�
Ref. Date L i J -(15 2013
SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon
Monoxide.
By the mid 1980s, scientific evidence was strong enough to prove that smokeless tobacco use
causes oral cancer, nicotine addiction, and other health problems. The Comprehensive
Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 ((Public Law 99-252) required three
rotating warning labels on smokeless tobacco packaging and advertisements:
WARNING: This product may cause mouth cancer.
WARNING: This product may cause gum disease and tooth loss.
WARNING: This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes.
Just last year, in 2012, fifty-seven years after the doctor told my Dad to stop smoking
cigarettes, new regulations were enacted requiring that the labels cover 50% of cigarette
packages on both the front and the back.
Providing SAFETY for our community, at the national level, lags well-behind the findings,
particularly when the safety of the citizens is being played out against the profits of
hugely profitable industries.
My father's doctor acted on the knowledge that HE knew to be true, years before our
government took even the first steps to protect us from tobacco. He looked at the research
that was compiling and compelling, and aligned his actions, before the government took action to
protect us.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, in November of 2012, published a 20 page report, with
195 references. "We, the American Academy of Pediatricians, are concerned with the impact of
pesticide use on children." They state that data is becoming more and more compelling, that the
unborn child and the infant and the growing child are particularly susceptible to pesticides.
The areas in they find the most evidence were leukemias, brain cancers, endocrine problems,
neuro-developmental problems, and asthma.
Policy Statement
The American Academy of Pediatrics represents most of the Board Certified Pediatricians of
America. The policies set by the The American Academy of Pediatrics most often become
world-wide policies because of their credibility.
In their Policy Statement, they say, "This is becoming alarming to us. We are seeing this
association with these childhood problems. It is becoming very evident to us that we do not
know enough about it."
I URGE to pass Bill 113, , immediately.
Mahalo nui,
CAtaika .s-11--
Cynthia Waymegwanc