Elenita and Pedro Enitan receive a plaque from the American Legion for his 60 years of service. Photo by Julia Neal |
PEDRO ENITAN, 91 YEARS OF AGE, RECEIVED AN AMERICAN LEGION HONORS AWARD on Wednesday from Commander of American Legion Post 3, Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Harvey Motomura. He led the ceremony at Pahala Holy Rosary Church to commemorate Enitan's 60 years of service in the American Legion.
Enitan, who grew up and lives in Pāhala and is known for his shoreline fishing, served in the Korean War. He was eldest in a family of four sisters and a brother. He left school as a junior to help support his
Dolly Kalua, of Holy Rosary Church, offers lei to Elenita and Pedro Enitan, in a ceremony honoring his patriotism at 91 years of age. Photo by Peter Volpe |
MONEY FROM A COMPANY THAT PROMOTED VAPING will go to preventative and curative outreach in Hawai'i, which has the nation's highest vaping rate among middle schoolers and the second highest among high schoolers, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. "Nicotine addiction among Hawai‘i children, caused by the rise of e-cigarettes, is alarmingly high," said a statement on Wednesday from the office of the Hawai'i Attorney General.
Hawai'i AG Holly T. Shikada announced a $438.5 million agreement in principle
Hawai'i will receive $6.8 to $7 million to fight and cure vaping among minors. Photo from Hawai'i Public Radio |
As part of the settlement, Hawai‘i will receive $6.8 million, which could increase to more than $7
million if JUUL opts to extend payments over a period longer than five years.
“Hawai'i’s youth have been disproportionately affected by the nationwide vaping epidemic,” said the Hawai'i Attorney General. “This settlement holds JUUL accountable for its targeted and misleading marketing and aims to prevent JUUL from getting more of our children addicted to its products.”
JUUL was, until recently, the dominant player in the vaping market. The Attorney General's statement said that a "multistate investigation revealed that JUUL rose to this position by willfully engaging in an advertising campaign that appealed to youth, even though its e-cigarettes are both illegal for them to purchase and are unhealthy for youth to use. The investigation found that JUUL relentlessly marketed to underage users with launch parties, advertisements using young and trendy-looking models, social media posts and free samples. It marketed a technology-focused, sleek design that could be easily concealed and sold its product in flavors known to be attractive to underage users. JUUL also manipulated the chemical composition of its product to make the vapor less harsh on the throats of the young and inexperienced users. To preserve its young customer base, JUUL relied on age verification techniques that it knew were ineffective."
The investigation revealed JUUL’s original packaging as misleading It failed to clearly disclose that it contained nicotine and implied that it contained a lower concentration of nicotine than it actually did. "Consumers were also misled to believe that consuming one JUUL pod was the equivalent of smoking one pack of combustible cigarettes. The company also misrepresented that its product was a smoking cessation device without FDA approval to make such claims," said the statement from Hawai'i's AG.
Students across the state have taken on vaping in Hawai'i, with the highest vaping rate among middle school students. Photo from The Garden Island newspaper |
State of Hawai'i is represented in the lawsuit by the Honolulu law firm Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher, and the national law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP.
As part of the settlement, JUUL has agreed to refrain from: youth marketing; funding education programs; depicting persons under age 35 in any marketing; use of cartoons; paid product placement;
sale of brand name merchandise; sale of flavors not approved by FDA; allowing access to websites without age verification on landing page; showing representations about nicotine not approved by FDA; misleading representations about nicotine content; sponsorships/naming rights; advertising in outlets unless 85 percent audience is adult; advertising on billboards; public transportation advertising; social media advertising (other than testimonials by individuals over the age of 35, with no health claims); use of paid influencers; direct-to-consumer ads unless age-verified, and giving out free samples.
The agreement also includes sales and distribution restrictions, including where the product may be displayed/accessed in stores, online sales limits, retail sales limits, age verification on all sales, and a retail compliance check protocol.
ELECTRONICS RECYCLING EVENTS will be on a new schedule, according to a statement from Hawai'i County released this week. It said that a reduction of state funding is leading to "procuring a
replacement schedule of electronics recycling collection events for the remainder of the calendar year. Please know that we are working on this and look forward to announcing details when we have finalized them. The Department of Environmental Management will announce the collections first on our website at https://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/recycle/e-waste/." According to the County, "A more permanent electronics recycling solution will come in the new calendar year. The State of Hawai'i recently enacted Act 151 (2022), which mandates that 'Manufacturers must fully fund their recycling plan, including the collection, transportation, and recycling of all [specified] electronic devices in the State.' These plans include 'Manufacturer recycling goals,' and the plans 'shall provide collection services at a minimum of once per month', 'at no cost to the owner' in certain population centers (e.g., Kailua-Kona and/or Hilo) starting in January 2023."
The statement from the Department of Environmental Management states: "We want to thank the public for doing their part in responsibly disposing of their E-Waste and ensuring that our island home continues to be a clean and safe paradise." Visit www.hawaiizerowaste.org to register for Solid Waste Notifications (via email or text), or call the Solid Waste Division Office at 808-961-8270.To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at wwwkaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/04/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano.html.
See September issue of The Kaʻū Calendar at www.kaucalendar.com, and in the mail - Volcano, Kaʻū to South Kona. |