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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 1091.022 2012-2014Murashige, Laura From: Jessica Yamauchi <jessica @tobaccofreehawaii.org> Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2014 10:06 AM To: Council Testimony Subject: Testimony in Support of HC 302 Attachments: HC 302 State Testimony 11.5.pdf Aloha, Attached is testimony in support of HC 302. Mahalo, Jessica Yamauchi, MA Executive Director Hawaii Public Health Institute dba Coalition for a Tobacco -Free Hawaii 850 Richards Street, Suite 201 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 (808) 591 -6508 x1 (office) (808) 391 -2473 (cell) www.hiphi.org www.tobaccofreehawaii. i P/Pswo ccti/1r,1. iC)Ri r_J n � ° n i to Z5 w vs -- Comm. No. / D ? /• 2-2- Ref. To: P/ oPs MT'G Ref. Date MY i 2 V V _ j r r To: The Honorable Brenda Ford, Chair, Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit Honorable Members of the Hawai' i Council From: Jessica Yamauchi, Executive Director Date: November 5, 2014 Hrg: Public Safety Committee; November 6, 2014 Re: Strong Support for HC 302, Relating to Electronic Smoking Devices Thank you for the opportunity to offer testimony in strong support of Hawaii County (HC) Bill 302, which regulates electronic smoking devices (ESDs). The Hawaii Public Health Institute ( HIPHI) works to build healthier communities and houses the Coalition for a Tobacco -Free Hawaii (Coalition) which specifically works to reduce tobacco use through education, policy and advocacy. Our program consists of over 100 member organizations and 2,000 advocates. The Coalition supports including ESDs in Hawaii County smoke -free air laws, which will provide for further consistency and protections of our residents and visitors. HC 302 amends Chapter 14, Article 4 and adds important definitions of the law, which are critical to allowing consistency among all of Hawaii County smoking laws. ESDs, often referred to as e- cigarettes, heat and vaporize a solution that typically contains nicotine, and are often designed to mimic the look and feel of a real cigarette.I Currently ESDs are not regulated at any level (federal or state); therefore all emissions and chemicals released in exhalation are also unregulated. ESDs do not just emit "harmless water vapor" as claimed by the industry. "Secondhand aerosol (incorrectly called vapor by the industry) from ESDs contains nicotine, ultrafine particles and low levels of toxins. "2 It is vital that we protect everyone from the dangers of secondhand aerosol. According to Dr. Stanton Glantz, Director for the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, "If you are around somebody who is using e- cigarettes, you are breathing an aerosol of exhaled nicotine, ultra -fine particles, volatile organic compounds, and other toxins. "3 The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that "legal steps should be taken to end use of e- cigarettes indoors in public and work places. Evidence suggest that exhaled e- cigarette aerosol increases the background air level of some toxicants, nicotine and particles. "4 HIPHI and the Coalition are concerned about e- cigarettes for several reasons, including secondhand aerosol, dual usage, and youth usage. Emerging research shows dual use where ' Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, "Electronic Smoking Devices (ESDs) and Smokefree Laws ", available at www.no-smoke.org/eigs.html. 2 Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, "Electronic Smoking Devices and Secondhand Aerosol ", available at www.no-smoke.org/pdf/ecigarette-secondhand-aerosol.pdf 3 Ibid a Noncommunicable diseases and mental health: Background on WHO report on regulation of e- cigarettes and similar products." Available at: http: / /www. who. int/ nmh/events /2014/backgrounder -e- cigarettes /en 850 Richards Street, Ste. 201 • Honolulu, HI 96813 • (808) 591 -6508 • www.hiphi.org • www.tobaccofreehawaii.org a }! I;TI IT cigarette users switch to ESDs in locations they are not permitted to smoke.5 Allowing the use of ESDs in locations where smoking is prohibited is problematic as ESD use puts innocent bystanders around the ESD user who breathe ESD aerosol at risk for illness, creates distractions in the workplace, threatens the social norm, and undercuts years of progress by tobacco control groups. Restricting ESD use is a growing trend across the US. More than 200 municipalities and three states restrict the use of ESDs in smokefree environments including New York City, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, and Boston. Most of the municipalities who have outdoor smokefree laws have expanded their laws to include ESDs. Manufacturers and retailers acknowledge that ESDs contain nicotine, are addictive and habit - forming, are intended for committed smokers, and should not be used by women who are pregnant or persons with an elevated risk of any medical condition, including, but not limited to, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma.6 According to Americans for Noncmokers' Rights, "ESDs are not a proven smoking cessation device; they are an alternative nicotine delivery device that will maintain or restore the habit, and can hook a new generation addicted to nicotine." 7 HIPHI and the Coalition are extremely concerned about the rising trend of youth use. In Hawaii high school tobacco use rate has continued to drop over the last decade from 24.5% in 2000 to 8.7% in 2011, however the use of e- cigarettes has been on the rise.' In the 2013 Youth Tobacco Survey, students who had ever tried e- cigarettes quadrupled for middle school students and tripled among high school students from 2011 to 2013.9 These products have rapidly gained popularity because of marketing, abundance of flavors (especially appealing to youth), and the belief that they are safe and helpful for cessation of cigarette smoking. ESDs have not been regulated by FDA and are not an FDA approved cessation device. In a synopsis of the WHO report, they concluded that "there was currently insufficient evidence to conclude that e- cigarettes help users quit smoking or not. Therefore, WHO currently recommends that smokers should first be encouraged to quit smoking and nicotine addiction by using a combination of already- approved treatments. "to 5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Notes from the field: electronic cigarette use among middle and high school students -- United States, 2011 -2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2013;62:729 -730. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nimwr/l)review/mmwrhtmi/n-im6235a6.htm?s cid= mm6235a6 w 6 http: / /www.eiuiceusa.com /warnings - -- read- me.php; www.vapedudes.com /; hLtp://www.vaportokers.com ig nvapor.com /; http: / /www.volcanoecigs.com /about -us 7 Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, "Electronic Smoking Devices (ESDs) and Smokefree Laws ", available at www.no-smoke.org/ecigs.html. 8 The Hawaii Health Data Warehouse, State of Hawaii, Hawaii School Health Survey, Youth Tobacco Survey Module. Available at: http: / /www.hhdw .org /cros /uploads/ Data %20Source_ %20YTS /YTS_ Prevalence _IND_0000l .pdf. 9 Data from Hawaii State Department of Health, Hawaii Youth Tobacco Use Survey, 2013. 10 Noncommunicable diseases and mental health: Background on WHO report on regulation of e- cigarettes and similar products." Available at: http: / /www. who. int /nmh/ events /2014/backgrounder -e- cigarettes /en 850 Richards Street, Ste. 201 • Honolulu, HI 96813 • (808) 591 -6508 • www.hil2hi.org • www.tobaccofreehawaii.org � A M According to Dr. Stan Glantz in response to the FDA proposed rule: "The meaningful action of e- cigarettes will remain at the state and local level, especially including them in clean indoor air laws ... (I hope that the state and local policy makers do not swallow the inevidable [sic] arguments that they don't need anything because the FDA is taking care of it.)11 In Hawaii, the State has made some movement towards protecting employees, first prohibiting the use in all Department of Health facilities, then by extending it to all buildings under Department of Accounting and General Services. Some private businesses have adopted policies to prohibit the use of ESDs including, but not limited to Consolidated Theaters, Chili's, Gyotaku, and JJ Dolans. However, many businesses are unaware that they are able to adopt such policies. Hawai' i County has the opportunity to lead the state and protect all employees in Hawai' i County by passing this measure. The arguments being heard now are the same arguments presented when we worked to pass smoke -free air laws over a decade ago. Hawaii County needs to join the more than 200 municipalities and restrict the use of ESDs where smoking is currently prohibited in an effort to protect our residents and visitors. We respectfully ask you to pass this measure to ensure the safety of everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this matter. Respectfully, Jessica Yamauchi, MA Executive Director 1 I Stan Glantz, "First reaction to e- cigarette deeming (based on press reports): FDA leaves ecigarette marketing unscathed." 850 Richards Street, Ste. 201 • Honolulu, HI 96813 • (808) 591 -6508 • www.hiphi.org • www.tobaccofreehawaii.org