Aloha,

Thanks to all our partners, funders and advocates for making 2014 another impactful year for public health in Hawai‘i! While our work as the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i continues, this year was another important step forward for us as a public health institute to start building bridges with the outstanding organizations and community leaders working to tackle obesity.

I am personally grateful for the warm reception we have received from the many communities and organizations we visited. Not only was Hawai‘i Public Health Institute (HIPHI) given a leadership seat on the statewide Obesity Prevention Task Force, we also received a tremendous amount of support for our new Perspectives on Community Health trips. These Perspectives outings bring together people working in public health to literally gain some new “perspective” on what health means to different communities across the state. If you are not already familiar with the program, check it out here.

In 2014, we also worked closely with partners and allies to achieve two major victories in tobacco control. First, thanks to the efforts of our Big Island coalition, Hawai‘i County became the first in the state to include e-cigarette use under the state smoke-free law. This now protects Big Island residents and visitors from e-cig vapor in most places where smoking is prohibited and it sets the stage for a potential statewide bill!

Second, and in direct response to community concerns, we worked to successfully pass legislation prohibiting smoking in all public housing developments across the state. Now, more people will be protected from deadly secondhand smoke in and around their homes.

I am also proud of all the trainings we did this year. In direct response to the feedback we received via our community engagement work, we discovered that there was a real desire and need for leadership and advocacy training. At a time when a large majority of those working in public health will be retiring in the next two decades, this training is more important than ever before. More than 100 public health professionals were trained this year, and we hope to expand our training capacity in the years to come.

We will continue to visit communities statewide, listen and share ideas, and work to pass policy that protects the health of all who live in and visit this beautiful state. Mahalo for your ongoing support!

With Aloha,