Bill proposes state-wide ban on tobacco in public parks
The ban would include electronic smoking devices and betel nut products as well.
The House Committee on Health held decision-making on HB525, which would make all state parks tobacco-free, earlier today. The nine-member committee unanimously passed the bill out with amendments from the chair. Four voted aye, five voted aye with reservations.
On Saturday, January 31, the Surfrider Foundation and the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi conducted four simultaneous beach clean-ups on Oʻahu (ʻEwa), Kauaʻi (Anahola), and Hawaiʻi Island (one in Kona and one in Hilo). Over 360 volunteers across the state collected and took a tally of the most littered items on Hawaiʻi’s beaches.
“We collected over 15,000 cigarette butts along with 3,426 pieces of plastic and 1,386 pieces of foam from four beaches this Saturday,” said Stuart Coleman, Hawaiʻi Coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation. “Cigarette butts, plastic and expanded polystyrene foam are among the most littered items in Hawaiʻi and the world.”
HB525 prohibits smoking and the use of tobacco, electronic smoking devices, or betel nut products within the state park system. Concerns among committee members centered on the ban on electronic smoking devices and betel nut, as well as with the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ ability to enforce the ban.
