HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1091.037 2012-2014PIPSWO
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Murashige, Laura
From: Tami MacAller <tmacaller @tobaccofreehawaii.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2014 6:29 PM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Strong Support for HC Bill 302 - Public Safety Committee meeting on 11/6 at 9:15am
in Hilo, HI
Attachments: HC Bill 302 Committee TestimonyTMacAllerCTFH3.pdf
Aloha Hawaii County Council Testimony —
Please provide the attached testimony for Hawaii County Bill 302 — pertaining to Smokefree ordinances and
Electronic Smoking Devices — to all council members.
Mahalo
Email: tmacaller@tobaccofreehawaii.org
web: www.tobaccofreehawaii.org
Hawai'i Island Facebook: www. facebook. com/ HawaiiIslandTobaccoFreePartnershi
"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. "
Joseph Addison
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Comm. No. to ! l. '37
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Tami MacAller, MPH, MCHES
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West Hawaii Community Coalition Coordinator
Coalition For A Tobacco -Free Hawai'i
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A Program of the Hawai'i Public Health Institute
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Phone: 808.238.0930
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Email: tmacaller@tobaccofreehawaii.org
web: www.tobaccofreehawaii.org
Hawai'i Island Facebook: www. facebook. com/ HawaiiIslandTobaccoFreePartnershi
"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. "
Joseph Addison
i
Comm. No. to ! l. '37
Ref. To:_ �
z Qf. Dute -7OV 6 2014
COALITION FOR A
TOBACCO - FREE HAWAII
To: The Honorable Councilperson Brenda Ford, Chair, Committee on Public Safety and Mass
Transit and Honorable Members of the Hawai'i County Council
From: Tami MacAller, MPH, MCHES, Public Health Professional and CTFH West Hawaii
Community Coordinator
Date: November 3, 2014
Hrg: Public Safety Committee; 9:15am, Thursday November 6, 2014, Hilo, HI
Re: Strong Support for HC Bill 302, Relating to Electronic Smoking Devices
The Coalition supports including ESDs by amending chapter 14 (general welfare), article 4 of the Hawai'i
county code 1983 (2005 edition, as amended) relating to prohibition of smoking in certain places and
the use of electronic smoking devices, which will provide for further consistency and protection in the
workplace, and other areas where tobacco use is prohibited in Hawaii County.
As the West Hawaii Coordinator for the Hawaii Island Tobacco -Free Partnership, I would like to
express my strong support for Hawaii County Bill 302 to integrate electronic smoking devices (ESD)
into all Hawaii County Smoke -Free and Tobacco -Free ordinances. Using an ESD is a person's choice,
but inhaling the aerosol emitted by the ESD is not a choice for an innocent bystander.
Evidence is clear that ESD's do not just emit "harmless water vapor" but a harmful aerosol.
Secondhand aerosol contains nicotine, ultrafine particles and toxins known to cause cancer.
Persons with breathing disabilities have compromised lung function when exposed to the ESD
aerosol. Short term exposure causes eye, throat, and airway irritation. Long term exposure causes
asthma attacks and new cases of asthma in children'
Currently, there are no regulations on ESDs at all. ESD manufacturers are not required to disclose
what chemicals are in their products, where they are produced, how they are made, or the
potential health risks they pose. ESDs have not been proven as successful smoking cessation
method nor have ESDs been regulated for cessation therapy.
As a Public Health Professional, I have strong concerns with the growing trend of ESD use by our
youth and the increasing number of a -juice poisonings occurring in young children. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention reports a three -fold increase of middle school and high school
student use of ESD since 2011.2 1 know personally, after teaching ESD prevention classes in West
Hawaii middle schools recently, that at least 75% of middle school youth use ESDs. Meanwhile,
according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, poisonings from nicotine in young
children have risen to over 219% over the past 2 years.'
' Choi, H; Schmidbauer,N; Spengler,J; Bornehag, C., "Sources of Propylene Glycol and Glycol Ethers in Air at Home," International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health 7(12): 4213 -4237, December 2010.
Offerman, FJ. "The Hazards of E- Cigarettes." ASHRAE Journal, June 2014.
Wieslander, G; Norback, D; Lindgren, T. "Experimental exposure to propylene glycol mist in aviation emergency training: acute ocular and
respiratory effects." Occupational and Environmental Medicine 58:10 649 -655, 2001.
Cigarettes vs. e- cigarettes: Passive exposure at home measured by mean of airborne marker and biomarkers, Montse Balbe, Jose M Martinez -
Sanchez, et.al. Environmental Research, Vol 135:76 -80Nov 2014.
zBunnell RE, Agaku IT, Arrazola R, Apelberg BJ, Caraballo RS, Corey CG, Coleman B, Dube SR, King BA.Intentions to smoke cigarettes among
never - smoking U.S. middle and high school electronic cigarette users, National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2011 -2013. Nicotine and Tobacco
Research. 2014 Aug 20
3 American Association of Poison Control Centers:. http : / /www._aap_cc.or alerts e- cigarettes/ Accessed 10/22/2014.
850 Richards Street Suite 200 • Honolulu, HI 96813 • (808) 591 -6508 • www.tobaccofreehawaii.or
*The Coalition for a Tobacco -Free Hawaii is a program of the Hawaii Public Health Institute
COALITION FOR A
TOBACCO -FREE HAWAII
Hawaii County has the opportunity to protect public health from exposure to secondhand smoke
and secondhand aerosol. We have enough science to make an intelligent decision that ESD
secondhand aerosol is dangerous to the public's health as it contains ultrafine particles, toxicants,
and carcinogens.'
As an organization that works to care for all our communities we want to know that the all the
places where we work and play are healthy places to be, free from ESD aerosol and free from the
undesired exposure of youth to behaviors that encourage smoking.
In order for all our smoke -free laws to work, we need clear and consistent laws without exceptions
for any smoking /tobacco device.
Mahalo for your efforts protecting all of our residents and visitors. Please support Hawaii County
Bill 302 and take care of our islands health.
Sincerely,
Tawt i. M a clA Ut r,
Tami MacAller MPH, MCHES
West Hawaii Community Coalition Coordinator
The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii (Coalition) is a program of the Hawaii Public Health
Institute working to reduce tobacco use through education, policy and advocacy.
4 Offerman, FJ. "The Hazards of E- Cigarettes." ASHRAE Journal, June 2014. And Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation. Electronic
Smoking Devices (ESD's) and Smokefree Laws Factsheet. http:// www .no- smoke.org /learnmore.php ?id =645. Accessed 10/31/2014
850 Richards Street Suite 200 • Honolulu, HI 96813 • (808) 591 -6508 • www.tobaccofreehawaii.or
*The Coalition for a Tobacco -Free Hawaii is a program of the Hawaii Public Health Institute