Anti-tobacco Campaign Fights for Hawai`i Teens
Lt. Governor Aiona announced Wednesday that the state is making a dedicated effort to address illegal tobacco use and exposure in Hawai`i amid a newly released survey that shows an increase in stores across the state that sell cigarettes to young people under age 18.
Lt. Governor Aiona discusses the importance of reducing tobacco sales to minors.
Speaking to reporters at the State Capitol, the Lt. Governor said the state is spending an estimated $10.6 million on anti-smoking efforts this year, up from $9.7 million a year ago.
“However, we need everyone to be on board if we are to stamp out teen smoking,” Lt. Governor Aiona said, adding that store clerks need to be more vigilant about asking teens their age and for identification when they are attempting to buy cigarettes. Under state law, store clerks can be fined between $500 and $2,000 for selling cigarettes to anyone under age 18.
Yet, a statewide survey, conducted this year by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the state Department of Health and the Cancer Research Center of Hawai`i, found 34 out of 304 randomly selected stores illegally selling cigarettes to minors. By comparison, the same survey from a year earlier found 20 out of 232 stores statewide illegally selling cigarettes to minors.
As a result, the rate of tobacco sales to minors increased to 11.2 percent in 2008, from 8.7 percent a year earlier, ranking Hawai`i above the national average in the battle against youth smoking.
At the same time, cigarette smoking is considered the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the United States, where 80 percent of smokers start by the time they are age 18.
“That is why it is troubling to see an increase this year in Hawai`i stores that illegally sell cigarettes to our young people under age 18,” Lt. Governor Aiona said. “It is crucial that we stop teens from taking up the habit.”
In contrast to the survey results for sales of tobacco to minors, Hawai`i’s rate of smoking among students in grades nine through 12 continues to significantly decline with 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) rates for “students who smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days” at 12.8 percent. This represents a decline of more than half the rate in 1999 which was 27.9 percent. Hawai`i’s 2007 rate is also well below the national rate of 20 percent. The YRBS is conducted every two years in public schools statewide.
- Watch the news conference.
