Hawaii Smoking Age Raised to 21; First US State to Raise Minimum Legal Age

Hawaii may be the first U.S. state to raise the minimum legal age for smoking to 21 if the bill gets approved by lawmakers.

Hawaii's legal smoking age will be raised from age 18 to 21 if Gov. David Ige will sign the proposed bill to make it into a law. This would enable the banning of possession, sale, and use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to adolescents under the age of 21, according to Time. A fine of $10 will be charged to first-time offenders, repeat offenders will be charged with $50 or do community service. If the bill will be signed and passed as law, it will be effective starting Jan. 1, 2016.

E-cigarette use among teens in Hawaii is almost triple the national average, according to the report by Hawaii University News. In the survey involving almost 2,000 teens, nearly 30 percent have tried e-cigarettes and 17 percent were using e-cigarettes. The findings were three times more than the U.S. studies reported in 2011 (4.7 percent) and 2012 (10 percent). The survey involved Hawaiian teenagers aged 14 and 15 from public and private schools in 2013. It assessed the use of e-cigarettes, cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, and substance use.

According to the facts published by the Hawaii Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 10% of high school students smoke and there are approximately 1,000 kids under the age of 19 who become daily smokers annually. There are 1,400 adults who die every year from smoking, and it is estimated that 21,000 (Hawaiian kids under 18 today) more will die prematurely from tobacco use.

"Today we have the opportunity to change the paradigm," said Rosalyn Baker, the Democratic state senator who introduced the bill.

The appeal of electronic cigarettes among teens is the different flavors available such as sweet tart and unicorn puke, which Baker said is "a combination of every flavor of Skittle in one."

"While the industry is not allowed to directly market to children, it is still developing packaging and advertising products in ways that appeal to children," she said via Fox News.

According to people opposing the idea of raising the smoking age to 21, it is unfair if a military veteran coming home from service to be prevented from smoking.

"It is not right because you are deemed an adult when you turn 18," according to Michelle Johnston, owner of Sub Ohm Vapes in Kailua-Kona.

"You can sign up and be in the military and basically give your life for your country. You can vote," she told Fox News. "Why shouldn't you be able to choose if you want to buy tobacco products or vaping products, when you're considered a legal adult?"

According to Sen. Gil Riviere, who voted against the bill, if Hawaii wants smoking to be ceased, everyone should be banned from doing so.

"You can sign contracts, you can get married, you can go to war and lose an arm or lose an eye ... you come back and you're 20 years old and you can't have a cigarette," Riviere quipped.