LIHU‘E — Smokers who resolved to stop in this New Year will have help from Tobacco-Free Kaua‘i and the American Lung Association of Hawai‘i. Valerie Saiki, the Kaua‘i coalition coordinator for Tobacco-Free Kaua‘i, was joined Sunday at Kukui Grove Center
LIHU‘E — Smokers who resolved to stop in this New Year will have help from Tobacco-Free Kaua‘i and the American Lung Association of Hawai‘i.
Valerie Saiki, the Kaua‘i coalition coordinator for Tobacco-Free Kaua‘i, was joined Sunday at Kukui Grove Center in Lihu‘e by Debbie Odo of O‘ahu, the tobacco control manager of the American Lung Association’s Hawai‘i division.
The two were ready to
offer smoker’s survival kits to the first 100 people who stopped to get more information on smoking cessation.
“We did a similar event on Dec. 4, and this is a
follow up for that event,” Saiki said. “This is about raising awareness about smoking. A person who decides to stop smoking needs about 30 days to prepare for quitting.”
Odo said people could pick up Quit Kits for friends, co-workers and themselves.
“This event is all about increasing the quit attempts,” Odo said.
“Hawai‘i has one of the lower quit attempts based on the last survey done and, hopefully, events like this move people to think about quitting.”
Odo said 14.5 percent of adults and 15.4 percent of teenagers in Hawai‘i smoke, according to a recent survey.
On Kaua‘i, the smoking rate is higher than the state average, Saiki said.
Surveys at Kapa‘a and Waimea high schools showed 6 percent of teenagers at those two schools smoke.
A note on a jar full of cigarette butts picked up at Lydgate Park states there were an estimated 9,378 smokers on Kaua‘i in 2010.
“That represents what volunteers picked up from Lydgate Park on a recent cleanup,” Saiki said. “That’s a lot of butts out there.”
Saiki said Tobacco Free Kaua‘i does not directly help smokers to quit, but instead links them to resources which are involved in smoking cessation programs.
These include the community-based veteran’s center, and Ho‘ola Lahui and Child and Family Services, including the Hale Ho‘omalu and Nana’s House smoking cessation programs.
Odo said the state spends $1.1 billion on smokers, with $450 million spent on care for smokers who develop diseases and illnesses associated with smoking. Another $270 million is the price tag on the loss of workplace productivity due to sick leaves and breaks, and the group places a $450 million price tag on premature deaths related to smoking.
“If people stop smoking, this is money we can spend in other areas,” Odo said. “It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen.”
The Sunday event was made possible through the Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation with sponsor support from the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i and Tobacco Free Kaua‘i.
Odo said the American Lung Association in Hawai‘i sends her to Kaua‘i at least once a month because Kaua‘i has no association office.
“We live in a blessed place,” the tobacco control manager said. “The American Lung Association is all about living long and healthy. We want to encourage people to quit, but they need to be ready.”
Visit www.ala-hawaii.org or contact Saiki at tobaccofreekauai@gmail.com for more information or for a Quit Smoking kit.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
