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From: Sandi, Valerie [Valerie.Sandi@doh.hawaii.gov]
Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 8:59 AM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Testimony for Bill 135 (Attn: Chair Yoshimoto)
Importance: High
Attachments: Bill 135_11-06-13_Testimony.pdf
Testimony from the Department of Health (DOH)
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Hearing Wednesday, 11/6/13 at 9:00am
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Testimony for Bill 135 114
Thanks,
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Valerie Sandi
Hawaii State Department of Health
Tobacco Prevention & Education Program
1250 Punchbowl Street, Room 217
Honolulu, H196813
P: 808.586.1432
F: 808.586.8252
Email: valerie.sandi@doh.hawaii.gov
Comm. No q7. 13
Ref.To: vicimmir
Ref. Date NOV as PIM
11/4/2013
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NEIL ABERCROMBIE ) LORETTA J.FUDDY,A.C.S.W.,M.P.H.
GOVERNOR OF HAWAII �` 4s� 11 DIRECTOR OF HEALTH
STATE OF HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
P.O.Box 3378 In reply,please refer to
HONOLULU,HAWAII 96801-3378 File:
COUNTY OF HAWAII
COUNTY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING
BILL 135, RELATING TO AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF
THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY
ADDING A NEW ARTICLE RELATING TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF
TOBACCO PRODUCTS
Testimony of Loretta J. Fuddy, A.C.S.W., M.P.H.
Director of Health
November 6,2013
1 Department's Position: The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) supports the passage of
2 Bill 135 as a measure to reduce youth tobacco use and help users quit.
3 Fiscal Implications: None
4 Purpose and Justification: This measure provides a new article to the Hawaii County Code which will
5 make it unlawful to distribute a tobacco product to any person under twenty-one years of age, with the
6 exception of a person who is eighteen years of age or older before or on June 30, 2014, and at such time
7 could be a lawful recipient of a tobacco product.
8 Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United
9 States. Nationally, nearly 1,000 youth under the age of 18 become regular smokers daily, and almost
10 one-third of them will die from it. The 2011 Hawaii Youth Tobacco Survey reports that in the state of
11 Hawaii, 5,600 youth experiment with smoking for the first time each year; another 1,400 become regular
12 smokers. In Hawaii County, 20% of young adults (18-24 years) and 9% of youth currently smoke.
Pro-vnotL't 'Ltf j- ecatltiEr We-WAR/16,
Bill 135
Page 2 of 3
National data from the 2012 US Surgeon General's Report show that 95% of adult smokers
2 begin smoking before the age of 21 years and 80% trying their first cigarette before age 18. Nearly half
3 of adult smokers become regular, daily smokers before age 18, and more than 75% become regular,
4 daily smokers before they turn 21. Therefore the 18 to 21 year age period is a time when many smokers
5 transition to regular use of cigarettes.
6 Tobacco companies heavily target young adults through a variety of marketing activities because
7 they know it is a critical time period for solidifying nicotine addiction. As cited in the American Journal
8 of Public Health (June 2002), the tobacco industry has admitted in their own internal documents the
9 importance of increasing consumption within this target group in order to maintain a profitable business.
10 In addition to high tobacco taxes, comprehensive smoke-free laws, and comprehensive tobacco
11 prevention and control programs, increasing the minimum legal sale age for tobacco products, from 18
12 to 21 years, has emerged as a new policy strategy, supported by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids,
13 the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, to
14 reduce youth tobacco use and help users quit. In the August 2013 issue of the Annals of Internal
15 Medicine, Dr. Michael B. Steinberg of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School stated that a
16 "hypothetical health policy model in which the tobacco age of sale is increased to 21 years projected that
17 youth smoking prevalence could be expected to drop from 22%to less than 9% among persons aged 15
18 to 17 years within seven years."
19 The DOH commends the Hawaii County for its history of leading the state in enacting effective
20 tobacco control legislation. It now joins four states and a number of municipalities, including New York
21 City, in proposing to raise the age of sale of tobacco products.
22 Benefits of such a law would include simplifying identification checks for retailers as well as
23 making it more difficult for young adolescents to pass themselves off as 21-year olds instead of 18-year
24 olds to reduce underage sales.
Bill 135
Page 3 of 3
1 Thank you for this opportunity to testify.