HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	156
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

Requesting the Hawai‘i Tobacco Quitline to make permanently visible on each page of its website information pertaining to the availability of translatION services upon request.

WHEREAS, the long-term cessation of tobacco and e-cigarette usage is correlated with improved physical and mental health and a longer life expectancy; and

WHEREAS, the Hawai‘i Tobacco Quitline is a free helpline service that provides nicotine patches and gum, educational information, and coaching to help smokers quit smoking; and

WHEREAS, the Hawai‘i Tobacco Quitline offers translation services upon request only; and

WHEREAS, the Hawai‘i Tobacco Quitline's website is accessible solely in English and Spanish and lacks information pertaining to the availability of translated services for other languages; and

WHEREAS, due to the unique history and geographical location of Hawai‘i, the Hawaiian islands are home to a large number of immigrants and their children, many of whom speak languages other than English or Spanish; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2020 Census, 11.4 percent of Hawai‘i residents ages five and above speak English at a level below "very well" and, according to a 2016 study conducted by the Hawaii State Data Center, 48.8 percent of individuals who speak another language at home speak English less than "very well"; and

WHEREAS, a 2012 study conducted by Thaddeus A. Herzog and Pallav Pokhrel concluded that information and products to assist with smoking cessation may be less known and accessible to Filipino and Native Hawaiian smokers; and

WHEREAS, according to the Department of Health, twenty-seven percent of Native Hawaiians in Hawai‘i smoke, nearly double the percentage of other ethnic groups; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Hawai‘i Tobacco Quitline is requested to make permanently visible on each page of its website information pertaining to the availability of translated services upon request; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the information displayed be made accessible in Ilocano, Tagalog, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, and ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai‘i Tobacco Quitline is requested to consider providing hyperlinks to translation services at the bottom of each page of its website, as exemplified by the Hawaii Medical Service Association's website; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Hawaii Tobacco Quitline; Translation Services