Hawaii has ushered in the New Year with a law raising the legal age for smoking both traditional and electronic cigarettes to 21, the first U.S. state to introduce such a measure.
If it makes it increasingly difficult for adolescents and young adults to gain access to cigarettes, that could prevent them from becoming addicted to tobacco and its health risks, public health officials in the state say.
"In Hawaii, about one in four students in high school try their first cigarette each year, and one in three who get hooked will die prematurely," says Lola Irvin of the health promotion and chronic disease prevention division in the state's Department of Health.
For the first three months following the Jan. 1 implementation of the law, warnings will be issued to people under 21 who buy cigarettes, and to businesses that sell them to those younger than 21.
After that three-month "education" period, there will be fines: for underage buyers, a $10 fine for the first offense and $50 for each subsequent infraction.
Businesses found selling tobacco to those under 21 will be fined $500 for a first violation and as much as $2,000 for repeat offenses.
While a number of U.S. cities and counties have passed similar ordinances, Hawaii's new law is the first statewide ban passed.
Officials at a number of Hawaii's military bases said the facilities would comply with the new law, and expressed support for the action.
Bill Doughty, a spokesman for the Navy Region Hawaii, described it as an issue of fitness and readiness.
"When we can prevent sailors from smoking or using tobacco, if we can get them to quit, then that improves their fitness and readiness, and it saves them a ton of money too," he says.
In preparation for the measure going into effect, the state's Health Department distributed 4,000 information signs to businesses to display about the new law, according to Lila Johnson, the agency's public health educator.
Health officials have also been in discussions with the tourism and travel industry to help inform visitors to the state of the regulations, she says, noting that people would be coming into Hawaii who would not be aware of them.
"It's a matter of education," she says. "We hope to see a lot more states picking it up so we're not the only one."
