HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

172

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

urging the setting of an example to our children and out-of-state visitors by designating all areas of the state capitol smoke-free.

 

 

WHEREAS, smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 430,700 American lives each year, including those affected indirectly; 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, 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, female smokers thirty-five years old or older are twelve times more likely to die prematurely from lung cancer than nonsmoking females. More American women die annually from lung cancer than any other type of cancer; 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 American Cancer Society, the American Lung and Heart Associations, and the Coalition for a Smoke Free Hawaii have endorsed designating the Hawaii State Capitol a smoke-free workplace; and

WHEREAS, although current law provides that smoking is prohibited in all areas open to the public and reception and waiting areas of state-owned buildings, the law is unenforced with respect to the Capitol; and

WHEREAS, each state agency head establishes the smoking policy for their organization, and in the case of the State Capitol, this would be the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Comptroller, the Director of the Public Safety, and the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau; and

WHEREAS, tobacco advertising plays an important role in encouraging young people to begin a lifelong addiction to smoking before they are old enough to fully understand its long-term health risks; 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, a smoke-free State Capitol would set a good example for our children, especially for the students in our schools and out-of-state visitors who tour the Capitol, while reflecting our respect for one of Hawaii's architectural highlights; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Comptroller, the Director of the Public Safety, and the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau are requested to designate the State Capitol as a completely smoke-free building with appropriate "No Smoking" signs to be posted and existing ashtrays removed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to take steps to ensure enforcement of existing law that prohibits smoking in public areas of state-owned buildings; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Comptroller, the Director of the Public Safety, and the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Smoke-Free Capitol