THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

106

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

URGING THE GOVERNOR, THE LEGISLATURE, AND THE MAYORS AND COUNCILS OF THE RESPECTIVE COUNTIES TO TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS TO MAKE HAWAII A SMOKE-FREE STATE BY THE YEAR 2010.

 

 

WHEREAS, smoking and tobacco use cause an estimated four hundred thirty thousand deaths in the United States each year and is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality; and

WHEREAS, smoking and tobacco use costs approximately $525,000,000 each year in Hawaii in health care costs and in lost productivity due to premature death; and

WHEREAS, smoking costs the United States approximately $97,200,000,000 each year in health care costs and lost productivity, is directly responsible for eighty-seven per cent of lung cancer cases, and causes most cases of emphysema and chronic bronchitis; and

WHEREAS, smoking is also a major factor in coronary heart disease and stroke, may cause malignancies in other parts of the body, and has been linked to a variety of other conditions and disorders, including slowed healing of wounds, infertility, and peptic ulcer disease; and

WHEREAS, smoking during pregnancy accounts for an estimated twenty to thirty per cent of low-birthweight babies, up to fourteen per cent of pre-term deliveries, and ten per cent of all infant deaths; and

WHEREAS, smoking by parents is also associated with a wide range of adverse effects in their children, including exacerbation of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome; and

WHEREAS, in America, there are an estimated 4,500,000 teenage cigarette smokers, and approximately ninety per cent of all smokers begin smoking before the age of twenty-one; and

WHEREAS, female smokers thirty-five years old or older are twelve times more likely to die prematurely from lung cancer than nonsmoking females, and more American women die annually from lung cancer than any other type of cancer; and

WHEREAS, exposure to secondhand smoke causes approximately thirty-eight thousand deaths among nonsmokers each year in the United States; and

WHEREAS, secondhand smoke contains more than fifty cancer-causing agents and is responsible for an estimated three thousand lung cancer deaths and more than thirty-five thousand coronary deaths among nonsmokers in the United States each year; and

WHEREAS, exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for lower respiratory infections, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, and chronic ear infections among children; and

WHEREAS, secondhand smoke involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people's cigarettes is classified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a known human carcinogen that is responsible for approximately three thousand lung cancer deaths annually in American nonsmokers; and

WHEREAS, there is no known safe level of secondhand smoke exposure, and evidence suggests that even short-term exposure may increase the risk of experiencing a heart attack; and

WHEREAS, establishing a policy requiring smoke-free environments is one of the most effective methods of reducing secondhand smoke exposure; and

WHEREAS, workplaces nationwide are going smoke-free to provide clean indoor air and protect employees from the life-threatening effects of secondhand smoke. A 1992 Gallup poll showed that ninety-four per cent of Americans believe companies should either ban smoking totally in the workplace or restrict it to designated areas; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 17, H.D. 1 during the Regular Session of 2004 requesting the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Comptroller, the Director of the Public Safety, and the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau to designate the State Capitol as a completely smoke free building; and

WHEREAS, chapter 328K, Hawaii Revised Statutes, currently prohibits smoking in certain public places and regulates smoking in the workplace; and

WHEREAS, the State takes pride in being known as the "Health State" and the designation of Hawaii as a smoke-free state would greatly enhance our reputation and status as a state committed to the health and well-being of our residents; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Governor, the Legislature, and the Mayors and councils of the respective counties are urged to take the necessary steps to make Hawaii a smoke-free state by the year 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Mayors and chairpersons of the councils of the respective counties.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Hawaii as a Smoke-Free State by 2010