Nearly 100 students from across the state gathered at the Capitol on Wednesday, donning bright pink “Breathe Aloha” T-shirts to protest against tobacco and electronic cigarettes.
The students are a part of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi, a youth-led initiative that aims to fight against the tobacco industry.
Maya Butts, a freshman at Kalaheo High on O'ahu, said her school bathrooms were no longer a basic facility that students could use because they had been turned into “vape lounges.”
She said teachers began limiting how many students could leave class at the same time as an attempt to limit the gatherings, but Butts said the thick juice-scented smoke cloud was still unavoidable.
“These companies target Native Hawaiian youth using sweet, enticing flavors to mask the reality of addiction. I realize that if our generation is the target, we must also become the ones leading the change for stricter state-level regulations,” Butts said.
“I want to empower my peers to choose their health over a trend, and to understand that these sweet flavors have lifelong consequences, and I am ready to move from a student observing the problem to a leader actively dismantling it for the generations that follow.”
Some students held signs that read “the 808 says no to vapes” while others stated the negative impacts smoking can have on physical and mental health, as well as the environment.
The group was joined by public health advocates, Gov. Josh Green and lawmakers, including Rep. Jeanné Kapela, who introduced a bill that would ban all disposable electronic smoking devices. Kapela’s bill and a similar Senate version are both still alive and moving through the state Legislature.
“Standing here today sends a strong statement to predatory companies that you will not back down, not until you are safe and protected from the corporations who threaten your health and well-being,” Kapela said.
“You are sending a statement to legislators like all of us here today, that you are partners in this work and that your voices are powerful and meaningful and you will continue to provide strength and courage so that we can make the decisions that help protect you and your futures.”
