They don’t leave butts on the beach. And there’s no secondhand smoke.
But Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha thinks electronic cigarettes and vaporizers ought to go the way of the traditional leaf-and-fire tobacco product and be banned from county facilities, parks and beaches.
Kanuha is sponsoring Bill 302 to do just that. The council’s committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit is scheduled to hear the bill at 2 p.m. Tuesday during its meeting at the West Hawaii Civic Center. The public can comment about the measure there, or by videoconference from Hilo council chambers, the Waimea council office, the county facility in Kohala, and the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates Community Center.
Kanuha said he decided to sponsor the bill following a move by the state Department of Accounting and General Services on Sept. 25 adding e-cigarettes to existing bans on smoking in state buildings and workplaces.
He said the county bill basically follows the state’s lead and takes into account complaints he’s been hearing from the public.
“They feel their air is violated by the use of these devices,” Kanuha said.
He said he’s not heard any complaints from the public about the increasing use of other pollutants at the beach, such as aerosol tanning and sunblock sprays.
Smoking e-cigarettes, or “vaping,” is gaining popularity nationwide, especially among the young. Industry analysts say consuming tobacco through this method will surpass smoking traditional cigarettes within the next 10 years.
Some physicians have said e-cigarettes are less dangerous than traditional cigarettes. But the jury is still out on whether they are safe or not, and how much toxins may be emitted in the steam exhaled by users.
“There’s still much unknown about e-cigarettes. Its effects remain largely unknown,” Kanuha said. “As a precautionary measure, they should be restricted until they’re proven safe.”
Kanuha was the author of a successful bill that went into effect this summer banning tobacco and e-cigarette sales to anyone younger than 21 years old. Hawaii County became the first county to do so, but Honolulu is now considering a similar ban.
Kanuha’s latest bill rankles Kawika Crowley, Republican candidate for the 2nd Congressional District seat and former longtime lobbyist for smoking rights. He called supporters of the measure a “bunch of feel-gooders.”
“These people should have their heads examined,” Crowley said. “It’s all based on political correctness and emotions, not facts.”
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
