Hawai’i Community Coalitions (East and West)

East Hawai’i

Tobacco-Free East Hawaii Cessation Resource Brochure

The focus for the East Hawaii Coalition is four prong:

To eliminate the exposure of second-hand smoke by educating the community about the Hawaii County Laws: 1) No Smoking in cars with minors present and 2) No Smoking in Hawaii County Parks, Beaches and Recreational Facilities.
To Prevent initiation of tobacco use among youth and younger children by conducting Smoking Prevention presentations in local elementary schools, with the assistance of the University of Hawaii Nursing program interns, and by conducting Tobacco 101 presentations in area middles schools and high schools.
To promote quitting tobacco among adults and youth by increasing the amount of individuals trained in brief tobacco intervention and increase the numbers of trained intensive tobacco treatment specialist. To provide health care, dental, and social services providers with a current tobacco cessation resource list.
To Increase the capacity of TF East Hawaii membership by developing members’ skills and knowledge in tobacco and leadership skills.

The TF East Hawaii coalition holds a General Meeting on the second Thursday of every month either at the American Cancer Society or the office of Hui Malama Ola Na `Oiwi, times vary due to members availability. For more information or to become a member please contact Sally Ancheta, TF East Hawaii Coalition Coordinator, 936-2686 or sally@tobaccofreehawaii.org

West Hawai’i

Hawai`i County passed its first anti-smoking laws in 1983 and 1995. Those laws banned smoking in some public places and they also required restaurants with a capacity of greater than 40 persons to designate a no smoking area.
In 2006, the state of Hawai`i followed the county initiatives, and became the 14th state to enact comprehensive statewide protection against secondhand smoke for its citizens and visitors. The law prohibits smoking in enclosed and partially enclosed public spaces, to include state and county facilities. Also effective in 2006, all retailers in the state of Hawai`i that sell tobacco products are required to have a tobacco retail permit from the Department of Taxation.
Hawai`i County continued moving ahead and in 2008 the county council banned smoking in public recreational facilities, to include parks and beaches. The county took the lead again in 2010 when it became the first county to ban smoking in vehicles when a minor is present. Although the state and county of Hawai`i are making significant gains in tobacco control, smoking and tobacco use remain the leading cause of preventable illness and death in Hawai`i. Here are some facts you should know:

15.4% of the adult population — over 160,000 individuals in Hawai`i, are current cigarette smokers. Across the state, the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults range from 9.3% to 26.5%.
In Hawai`i County 22.1% of the men smoke and 18.7% of the women; compared to the state rate of 16.8% of men and 13.9% of women, the rates are significantly higher.
Puna/Ka`u has 26% of current smokers, as compared to 15.4% statewide, nearly double the state prevalence rate. North Hawai`i has 19.4% and Kona has 17.7%.
Native Hawaiian adults in Hawai`i County are 31% of current smokers; Filipino smokers are 18.4%; and Caucasian adults make up 20.6% of smokers.
Native Hawaiians are more likely to smoke than any other ethnic group in Hawai`i. Ethnic Prevalence Statewide: Hawaiian 22.1%; Caucasian 17.2%; Japanese 12.2%; Filipino 11.7%; Other 14.8%.
19% of high school youth reported using tobacco in the last month and 8% of middle school youth reported using tobacco in the last month.

We need to continue our work in collaboration with the Hawai`i State Department of Health and community partner agencies in the implementation of a comprehensive program which emphasizes the Hawai`i strategic plan strategies in preventing initiation, promoting quitting, eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke, and eliminating disparities related to tobacco use. A major component of a tobacco control program is surveillance and evaluation to monitor our progress toward our goals.
The West Hawai`i Coalition encourages and welcomes your participation. Monthly coalition meetings will be scheduled at various locations around West Hawai`i. For dates and additional information, contact Brenda Larson, West Hawai`i Community Coalition Coordinator at (808) 539-9696; brenda@tobaccofreehawaii.org

Ways to Help

Give Aloha Program
During September, Maika`i customers are invited to make a donation of up to $249 (per person, per organization) at checkout to their favorite non-profit organization registered in Give Aloha. Foodland matches a portion of each donation.

Donor Benefits
The Coalition offers membership levels: Basic Premier Sponsor Investor Champion To learn more about the benefits offered at each level click on the image of the flyer in this section. Donations of $100 or more qualify for fun and useful Coalition gifts.

Donate Now
You can help continue the fight to create a tobacco-free Hawaii and protect our children and elders from the harm caused by tobacco. It is safe and easy to make a donation on-line today.

Initiatives

Homes
The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii, the Hawaii State Department of Health, and other community partners, are working together to create healthier and safer communities by reducing secondhand smoke exposure in condominiums, apartments, and town-homes in Hawaii.

Business
With the support of the HMSA Foundation, the Coalition has worked with the business community to develop a toolkit to assist businesses in creating a tobacco-free workforce.

Communities
The Social Norms Toolkit was created as a means to positively affect socially accepted behavior around the issues of smoking and second-hand smoke. The key premise of this toolkit is to assist with creating social environments that support, promote and reinforce healthy behavior choices. This goal goes far beyond just tobacco control efforts, and can be applied to almost any public health focus.