The Guam Legislature proposed Bill 9-34 to raise the legal age of tobacco use on Guam to 21 years.  Known as the Youth Protection Act of 2017, it was later lapsed into law on Mar 23, 2017 by Gov. Eddie B. Calvo.  As such, the law takes into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

By the numbers, Guam ranks the highest in smoking among young adults. According to Cathy Rivera Castro of the American Cancer Society Guam Chapter, “Guam’s youth smoking rate is 17.6 percent, and the national average is at 10.8 percent. One in three of Guam’s high school students, and one in four middle school students, uses electronic cigarettes.”

But what’s so important about raising the legal age of tobacco use to 21 years? What are the benefits? Issues on the passing of Bill 9-34 have generated some ambivalence among some of Guam’s residents. Yet, the lapsing of this law is better because it promotes a healthier lifestyle for Guam’s future.

Support

Making the legal age of tobacco use to 21 years has raised issues among the citizens of Guam. Individuals such as Speaker BJ Cruz and  support Bill 9-34 because of the health benefits it promotes.

Speaker BJ Cruz, stated that it was a win against Big Tobacco after the bill was lapsed into law. He added that it was not about money but about preventing the future generations from disease and death from tobacco use.

In an interview with KUAM, the executive director of the Guam Cancer Care, Terry Cuabo, mentioned that it was the right thing to do. He noted that he understands the opinions of those who opposed the bill. However, he said that the bill was aimed to save lives, which would benefit the community

According to the Institute of Medicine (2015) lowering the initiation rate of tobacco use can be correlated with increasing the legal age of tobacco use. Their study shows that youth 15-17 years are the most affected if the legal age is raised.

Based on Figure 1, making the legal age of tobacco use to 21 years decreases the initiation rate on youth 15-17 years by 25 percent. That is 15 percent higher than raising the legal age to 19 years.

The committee of the Institution of Health concluded that raising the legal age to 21 would also have health benefits among youth. There will be a reduction in the side-effects of smoking and the deaths caused by smoking.

Data

Catherine Rivera Castro, a representative of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, provided documents that show the numbers of tobacco use in Guam.

Guam is actually ranked #1 of having more than 17 percent  of youth who smoke. Also, 65 percent  of deaths were related or worsened by tobacco use. These numbers are alarming compared to a lower average in the United States of having around 50 percent (Figure 2). In addition, 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 10 middle school students in Guam currently smoke.

Indeed, an Institute of Medicine in 2015 predicted the benefits of raising the age to 21 years. First, there would be 4.2 million fewer years of life lost for those born between 2000 and 2019. Second, tobacco use prevalence would fall an estimated 12 percent  compared to 3 percent  if it was raised to 19 years. These predictions, if accurate, indicate that the health of youth of Guam would benefit when the smoking age is raised.

E-Cigarettes

E-Cigarettes are battery-operated devices made to resemble cigarettes that deliver a nicotine containing aerosol. E-cigarettes have many names such as e-cigs, hookah, vapes, or mods.

Dr. Annette David, the chair of Guam’s State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW), mentioned that electronic cigarettes are popular among youth. She added that e-cigarettes are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The State Health Officer’s Report on E-Cigarettes stated that the number of teens who used e-cigarettes tripled from 1.5 percent in 2012 to 4.5 percent in 2013.

According to the Guam Youth Risk Behavioral Survey in 2015, 1 in 3 high school students and 1 in 4 middle school students currently use e-cigarettes.

From Fig. 3, the percentage of e-cigarette users on Guam is significantly higher than the United States. 32.3 percent of high school students and 23 percent of middle school students in Guam use it compared to 16 percent and 5.3 percent in the U.S.

Dr. David mentioned that since e-cigarettes are new, the youth adapted to these items and made them into a fad. Around 60 percent of youth on Guam have experimented with e-cigarettes. The number could be a result of the promotion of its harmless appeals.

“E-cigarettes come in many different flavors like bubblegum and cappuccino,” said Dr. David. The California Department of Public Health in their Health Advisory adds that the use of cartoons and fashion accessories promotes them to younger audiences.

Harms

Even with the so-called harmless appeals, e-cigarettes also contain nicotine, which is a harmful neurotoxin. It also contains other carcinogens such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and benzene. The nicotine is in a liquid form and exposure to it can harm brain development among youth.

Smoking e-cigarettes also emit toxic chemicals in the form of an aerosol. At least 10 of the chemicals in the aerosol are on California’s Proposition of 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer and other harms.

A risk present in e-cigarettes is the explosion of the device. Several cases have surfaced in which e-cigarettes have exploded and caused damage to its users.

An instance of an exploding e-cigarette in Guam had a user suffer severe trauma to his face, hand, and eyeball. The surgeon, Dr. Ng, said in an interview with KUAM, that the user’s eye was severely damaged.

In 2008 – 2012, lung cancer accounted for 15 percent  of new cancer cases and was responsible for almost one-third of cancer deaths in Guam. These numbers could potentially decrease when the legal age is raised to 21.

Advocacy

Speaker BJ Cruz, Ms. Catherine Castro, and Dr. Annette David pushed for Bill 9-34, which will the legal age of tobacco use in Guam to 21 effective Jan 1, 2018. The bill also recognized e-cigarettes as tobacco products so those under 21 cannot purchase e-cigarettes.

Ms. Castro met with each senator of the 33rd and 34th Guam Legislature to advocate the smoking bill. Even with the bill passing in the Legislature, she mentioned that she continued to petition for it.

With a high number of youth who use e-cigarettes, Dr. David still feels that more policies could be proposed to significantly lower the number of users. She mentioned policies such as no vaping in public places and placing higher taxes on tobacco products could help.

A key factor in the future success of the bill is how strongly it will be enforced in Guam. If it is not enforced, Guam may experience an increase in youth smokers and issues of its adverse effects.

Raising the legal age of tobacco use to 21 years is the right step for a positive change. The number of smokers on Guam may decrease which means fewer youth smokers. There may be less cases of lung cancer deaths.

Dr. David mentioned that Guam as a community needs to work together to inform people about the risks of cigarettes. Raising awareness and mobilizing support might lower the number of cigarette users in the future. This can prevent the youth from developing the adverse side effects of using cigarettes.

People may continue to oppose this change. But if the island experiences the positive effects, then the change will not be as bad as they thought. The change will be for a better Guam.

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Working alongside English professors, members are guided and gain experiences from them.

Samantha Frias, 22, a member of TES, said the club plans to have an English workshop next semester.

Frias said the workshops would be for high school students so they can improve their writing. She added that Artken Cada and Kayle Tydingco headed the workshops.

Cada and Tydingco stated that the workshops were still in the process. Tydingco added that they are first hosting a writing challenge to all Guam students from K-12th grade.

“There’s three age groups, elementary, middle and high school. Each grade level has their own prompt. They have different categories for how to write in response to the prompts,” Tydingco said.

TES will focus on points to cover from the writing challenge submissions for their upcoming workshops.

Tydingco added that TES plans to hold workshops for senior citizens by teaching them about creative writing. The senior citizens would write about their lives.

According to Ruby Palmes, 23, a recent TES member, the club conducted two bake sales in the month of November.

Kiersten Lim, 24, a member of TES added that they raised around $600 for the first bake sale.

The money raised will pay for the sashes of graduating seniors and other items such as banners and t-shirts.

“We talked about donating school supplies to schools,” Palmes said.  She added that they want to encourage students to read and write.

Lim talked about a meet-and-greet event the club held in the beginning of November. She mentioned that the event had games, free food, henna tattoos and face paint.

“We’re trying to recruit those undeclared students, especially sophomores and freshmen,” Lim said.

Being all English majors, Frias, Lim and Palmes heard of TES from their classmates.

Being a member of TES, Frias talked about the benefits of the club. She said that she got closer to other members and they hang out outside of school.

Frias said everyone always encourages others in the group.

“We help each other out, no matter what,” Frias said.

Lim added on by saying that she made friends when she joined the club. “We’re like a family,” she said.

Frias said she doesn’t see a drawback with joining the club. However, she said that a busy person would have trouble participating.

TES is catered for English majors, but the club is open for students of other majors to join.

The officers of TES are Zyra Sanchez, Christine Jackson and Artken Cada. They are all English majors. The advisor is Chris Garcia, Ph.D. who is an assistant professor of English.

Frias said members of the club are mostly seniors. She hopes more students join the club.

The club uses an Instagram account to post updates. “We keep people updated with our events, what’s going on with what we’re doing next,” Frias stated.

TES members can also earn sashes for graduation. Frias mentioned that members don’t pay for them, but earn them.

“You have to get 20 points to earn your sash,” Frias said.  The points can be earned through participating in meetings, bake sales and events.

Lim encourages students to join because there are no requirements in joining TES except for the membership fee of $5.

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“Tour of the Pacific” was the festival’s theme.

The Council of Postsecondary Student Affairs (COPSA) was in charge of hosting this event. They organized booths for student organizations and a talent show on the main stage.

The Vice president of COPSA Rodeson Basto explained that they host the festival primarily for the students of GCC. He said various GCC clubs and groups participated in this annual event.

According to Basto, the Fall Festival was postponed due to weather condition. The intended date for the event was scheduled for Sep. 22 but it was moved to Oct. 27.

As the theme of the festival suggests, several student organizations and groups had booths to showcase the culture of their club.

The Japan Club and Yap Club promoted their culture by wearing traditional clothing and showcasing items from their cultures.

Student organizations such as the Practical Nursing Student Association and Digital Arts Society had booths to showcase their student organization and sell various items.

The PNSA promoted their club and sold snacks and drinks as a fundraiser..

DAS made buttons with pre-made or suggested design ideas.

According to Basto, the talent show was planned and organized by the Talent Club of GCC. The Talent Club looked for performers and scheduled the entertainment weeks prior to the festival. Several bands, singers and dancers took center stage to perform.

In addition, the festival featured photo booth and food vendors. The photo booth had numerous props and a line of students wanting to take pictures with friends and family. The several food vendors sold various snacks such as cupcakes, karage chicken, ice cream and iced drinks.

The festival took place days before Halloween. GCC students could be seen wearing their costumes. Basto added to the fun by dressing up as a giraffe. He could not be missed as his costume stood over 7-feet tall.

The annual festival is an event Basto helped organized. Basto said “Of course the people, crowds and students that participate, join and have as much fun as they can. Without them, it would just be a boring and dull festival.”

Basto felt that the festival was a success even though it was postponed. The turnout from the students were a lot and he hopes that the next festival he plans with COPSA would be as successful as this.

The post GCC Holds its Annual Fall Festival appeared first on The Triton's Call.

Sanchez began attending UOG in the fall semester of 2010. In his stay at the university, Sanchez was able to join a student organization, the International Friendship Club.

Sanchez was first introduced to IFC four years ago when it was established. However, he did not join until the spring of 2015. As a member, Sanchez actively volunteered in the summer, fall semester and spring semester. With the hours he made, Sanchez qualified for a scholarship to attend a university in Korea for the summer of 2016.

Sanchez attended Chonbuk National University in Korea for two weeks from August 1 to12. He took classes on Korean language and culture.

After his trip from Korea, Sanchez was voted to become the new president of IFC. “Right now I do hope to expand it since we have at least 20 new volunteers and applicants still coming in,” Sanchez said.

With a majority of these applicants being freshmen and sophomores, he explained that the new members will be responsible for taking care of the club’s future.

Sanchez anticipates challenges through his term as president. With an internship and being president, he has to balance the two. In regards to the club, he said, “The challenging aspect would be timing because not everyone would have the same schedule.”

Sanchez plans to have several bonding activities to engage new members with the current members such as movie nights and beach days.

According to Sanchez, the club is busy year-round. The fall semester mainly consists of one-day tours in which Japanese schools stay for one to two days. The spring semester consists of long-term tours in which mainly Korean universities stay for two to four weeks.

Sanchez also adds that it would be difficult for him to teach new members because they would have to learn on-the-go. Before he graduates, Sanchez hopes for the club to grow in active members.

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Sano High School will be sending 80 students to Guam for the two-day event.

The PIP office needs at least 18 volunteers for this event. The volunteers will assist the Japanese students on Oct 5 by showing them around the Chamorro Village.

On the following day, the volunteers will join the students on a UOG campus tour, cultural dance and coconut leaf weaving demonstration.

Students interested in volunteering can contact the PIP office by calling 735-2600 or visit their office located at the second floor of the MARC building on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Justin Andre, the outreach coordinator, can assist with inquiries about the event.

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