UPDATE
Hawai’i Vapers!
A big vote in Hawaii County is taking place tomorrow!
On Wednesday, December 17th, a hearing will be held and a vote likely taken on Bill 302, a comprehensive indoor e-cigarette use ban. This bill would also prohibit use at all county parks and beaches. Although there is a somewhat ambiguous exemption for “Retail Tobacco Stores”, this bill would prohibit use in thousands of other work places and common indoor spaces in hotels and residences.
Public comment will be heard starting at 9:15 AM and we strongly encourage vapers to attend.
Please take a moment now to write and/or call Council members and voice your opposition to this bill.
Meeting Agenda (including address and room information):
AGE COUNCIL 12/17/2014 2014-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink
Text of Bill 302:
BIL 302 Draft 01 2012-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink
ADVOCACY SUGGESTIONS
1) Email and call the members of the Hawaii County Council (listed below) to explain why you oppose efforts to ban e-cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited, and attend the council and offer testimony in opposition to efforts to define smoke-free e-cigarette use as smoking (see Suggested Talking Points listed below.)
Written testimony needs to be sent to counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov by today (Tuesday) at 12 PM, but phone calls can be made throughout the day. Be sure to specify that you are submitting testimony regarding “Bill 302”.
2) Contact local media (television station producers and newspaper editors) to tell your story and explain why this ordinance is bad for public health and actually encourages smokers to keep smoking.
3) Post comments on online news stories about this proposed ordinance telling your story and why you oppose the ordinance.
4) Contact all of your local vape shops and let them know that they need to fight this ordinance (no more vaping in their shop.) Retailers can contact their customers, make them aware of the proposed ordinance and get them to attend hearings.
5) Even if you do not wish to speak publicly, be sure to attend meetings and rallies as an audience member to show a strong, united front and to make clear to the media and lawmakers that such actions are hurting real people.
(See Massachusetts town snuffs out tobacco ban after outcry as an example of what a strong show of opposition can do, but please always remain calm and respectful. What ultimately changed changed minds in this case was the sheer numbers of people showing up, not the disruption of the proceedings.)
As a sign of respect, we request that you refrain from vaping during any meetings with lawmakers and/or media, avoid the use of "vape slang" (ie. "juice") and foul language, and act in an otherwise respectful, professional manner.
Hawaii County Council
Comma delimited email:
counciltestimony@hawaiicounty.gov,
valerie.poindexter@hawaiicounty.gov,
aaron.chung@hawaiicounty.gov,
dennis.onishi@hawaiicounty.gov,
greggor.ilagan@hawaiicounty.gov,
daniel.paleka@hawaiicounty.gov,
maile.david@hawaiicounty.gov,
dru.kanuha@hawaiicounty.gov,
karen.eoff@hawaiicounty.gov,
margaret.wille@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 1
Valerie T. Poindexter
Phone: (808) 961-8018
Fax: (808) 961-8912
Email:
valerie.poindexter@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 2
Aaron Chung
Phone: (808) 961-8272
Fax: (808) 961-8912
Email:
aaron.chung@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 3
Dennis “Fresh” Onishi
Phone: (808) 961-8396
Fax: (808) 961-8912
Email:
dennis.onishi@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 4
Greggor Ilagan
Phone: (808) 965-2712
Fax: (808) 965-2707
Email:
greggor.ilagan@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 5
Daniel K. Paleka, Jr.
Phone: (808) 961-8026
Fax: (808) 961-8912
Email:
daniel.paleka@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 6
Maile David
Phone: (808) 323-4277
Fax: (808) 329-4786
Email:
maile.david@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 7
Dru Mamo Kanuha
Phone: (808) 323-4267
Fax: (808) 329-4786
Email:
dru.kanuha@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 8
Karen Eoff
Phone: (808) 323-4280
Fax: (808) 329-4786
Email:
karen.eoff@hawaiicounty.gov
Dist. 9
Margaret Wille
Phone: (808) 887-2069
Fax: (808) 887-2072
Email:
margaret.wille@hawaiicounty.gov
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS
1. You are a Hawaii County resident and you oppose banning e-cigarette use where smoking is prohibited. (If you are responding to this Call to Action and are not a state resident, please mention any connection you have to the area, for example, you travel to The Big Island on vacation or have friends/family in the area.)
2. Tell your story on how switching to an e-cigarette has changed your life. (Avoid using slang terms such as "juice.")
3. Clarify that:
a. Smoking bans are ostensibly enacted to protect the public from the harm of secondhand smoke, but e-cigarettes have not been found to pose a risk to bystanders. In fact, all evidence to date shows that the low health risks associated with e-cigarettes are comparable to other smokeless nicotine products.
b. The low risks of e-cigarettes is supported by research done by Dr. Siegel of Boston University, Dr. Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth, Dr Maciej L Goniewicz of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Dr. Laugesen of Health New Zealand, Dr. Igor Burstyn of Drexel University, and by the fact that the FDA testing, in spite of its press statement, failed to find harmful levels of carcinogens or toxic levels of any chemical in the vapor.
c. A comprehensive review conducted by Dr. Igor Burstyn of Drexel University School of Public Health based on over 9,000 observations of e-cigarette liquid and vapor found "no apparent concern" for bystanders exposed to e-cigarette vapor, even under "worst case" assumptions about exposure.
d. Electronic cigarette use is easy to distinguish from actual smoking. Although some e-cigarettes resemble real cigarettes, many do not. It is easy to tell when someone lights a cigarette from the smell of smoke. E-cigarette vapor is practically odorless, and generally any detectable odor is not unpleasant and smells nothing like smoke. Additionally, e-cigarette users can decide whether to release any vapor ("discreet vaping"). With so little evidence of use, enforcing use bans on electronic cigarettes would be nearly impossible.
e. The ability to use electronic cigarettes in public spaces will actually improve public health by inspiring other smokers to switch and reduce their health risks by an estimated 99%.
f. Losing the ability to test e-liquids before purchasing will have a significant and negative impact on your ability to purchase/sell e-liquids.
g. Many smokers first try e-cigarettes because they can use them where they cannot smoke, however, they often become "accidental quitters." This is a documented phenomenon unique to e-cigarettes. It may take a few months or only a few days, but they inevitably stop smoking conventional cigarettes. This is why including e-cigarettes in smoking bans could have serious unintended consequences!
h. By making e-cigarette users go outdoors, the City will also be sending a strong message to traditional smokers that e-cigarettes are no safer than smoking. This will actually maintain the number of smokers in Madison, rather than help reduce smoking. This is a far more realistic risk to public health than any unfounded concerns about possible youth or non-smoker use uptake.
In fact, the most recent report by the CDC showed that the dramatic increase in e-cigarette use over that past 3 years has not led to an increase in youth smoking. Youth smoking of traditional cigarttes continues to decline to record low levels.
i. The children of smoking parents are far more likely to become smokers than the children of non-smoking parents who see smoking behaviors in public. The children of smoking parents who quit aren't any more likely to smoke than those of non-smoking parents. Prohibiting vapor products in public does little to protect the children of non-smoking parents from becoming smokers, but significantly increases the likelihood that many smoking parents won't switch to e-cigarettes. This only serves to keep the highest-risk children at risk.
j. E-cigarette use does not promote the smoking of traditional cigarettes, nor does it threaten the gains of tobacco control over the past few decades. In fact, by normalizing e-cigarette use over traditional smoking, the efforts of tobacco control are being supported. If anything, e-cigarette use denormalizes conventional smoking by setting the example of smokers choosing a far less harmful alternative to traditional smoking. The CDC surveys clearly show that there has been no "gateway effect" causing non-smokers to start smoking. As e-cigarettes have become more popular, all available evidence is showing that more and more smokers are quitting traditional cigarettes, including youth smokers.
k. Important Note: A typical and frequent lawmaker response to e-cigarette users who object to public use bans is "We aren't banning all use or sales, just use where smoking is also prohibited."
Don't give them the opportunity to counter you in that way! Make it very clear that you understand that this is not a ban of e-cigarette sales or a ban of e-cigarette use where smoking is allowed, but that what IS proposed is still a step backward in public health, not a step forward.
4. Direct them to the CASAA.org website, as well as the CASAA Research Library, for more information.
