HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0447.024 2012-2014 COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAII
RECEIVED
Time :.'rny By si14..i
Date ��__ 3
November 6, 2013
Aloha Chair Yoshimoto,Vice Chair Eoff,and members of the Hawaii County Council,
My name is Ku'ehu Mauga and I am a Hawaiian Studies student at the University of Hawai'i
at Hilo.
I strongly support Bill 136Raising the age of the sale of tobacco products to 21.
I was born and raised in Hilo here on Hawaii Island. As someone who has suffered from the
effects of having asthma, I was educated about the harmful effects of smoking from a very
young age.
On a personal level, it was through being educated about the effects of smoking,that I became
strong minded to be an anti-smoking advocate.After experiencing many deaths in my family
due to lung cancer, I made sure that I would never make that choice in my life. My
grandparents were both smokers, and sadly passed away having suffered the effects. I live my
life to the fullest everyday by making positive choices and by living a healthy lifestyle.There are
far better things that make life worth living than the negativity of smoking and the sale of
tobacco products.Too many people use smoking as an excuse for stress.
We can all agree that everyone makes their own choices in life, but it is important to promote
the fact that smoking is not a good thing. Most people choose to take the risks that come with
smoking, only because the effects become a priority in the long term, but by then it is too late.
Tobacco use kills nearly 400,000 Americans every year, 95 percent of whom start smoking
regularly before the age of 21.Tobacco companies continue to target young adults like myself,
because they know it is a critical time period for solidifying addiction to tobacco.
As a young adult, I strive to inspire anyone and everyone to make better decisions, especially
when it comes to the education of tobacco effects. If the term CANCER isn't enough to stop
someone from smoking, I don't know what is,which is why I feel it is important to educate the
public, because it is the key for change.
As a native Hawaiian, it is with a heavy heart to see the many deaths of our Hawaiian people
due to the effects of smoking. Smoking was never a Hawaiian tradition, and I refuse to let it
become one in Hawaii today. With the introduction of e-cigarettes, I continue to stand against
it, because no matter the amount of nicotine you inhale, it will become an addiction.
Smoking had no part in the successes of my life, and it never will. We can never change people
and the decisions they make, but raising the "smoking age"to 21 is a start.
Nothing else matters when you can't breathe. Mai puhi paka!—No smoking!
Sincerely,
//1'1 4
Ku'ehu Mauga j
Hawaiian Studies Student, University of Hawai'i at Hilo ,
Comm.No
Ref.To:, P eou^c//
Ref. Dote,NOV Z e [0"3