Hawaii: Bill 51 Will Change The Legal Age For Smoking Product Sales (like Electronic Cigarettes) from Age 18 to 21:

The City and County of Honolulu will be meeting tomorrow to discuss several bills that will affect the daily lives of the people of Oahu. Introduced by Councilmembers Stanley Chang and Ernest Martin, amongst these bills is Bill 51, which is an ordinance that if approved will effectively change the legal age for smoking products sales from 18 to 21 years of age. This includes electronic cigarettes and any related products.

A similar bill, Bill 135 of Hawaii County (Big Island) was already passed and signed into law within the last year. The ordinance had taken effect on July 1, 2014 but did exempt any persons who reached the age of 18 before that date. However this grandfathering clause was completely removed from Bill 51, which plainly means if you are under the age of 21 when this bill takes effect, you cannot purchase any smoking (tobacco or electronic) related products.

What will happen if Bill 51 is signed into law:

• It will be illegal to distribute tobacco products (any shape or form), including tobacco, snuff and/or electronic smoking devices to a person who is between the age of 18 and 20 years old.

• It will be illegal for a person who is between the age of 18 and 20 years old to purchase tobacco products (any shape or form), including tobacco, snuff and/or electronic smoking devices.

• It will be illegal for a person who is between the age of 18 and 20 years old to sell tobacco products (any shape or form), including tobacco, snuff and/or electronic smoking devices.

This means that any person who distributes tobacco or electronic smoking devices will need to be able to verify the age of the recipient / purchaser through a valid state or federal identification card. Anyone found to be in violation of this law could face fines up to $2000 along with community service.

Read more on Hawaii Bill 51 here >

If you are interested in attending the second reading for Bill 51, the City Council will be holding a public meeting at the following location:

Mission Memorial Auditorium on the grounds of Honolulu Hale

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Begins at 10:00 AM

If you wish to testify at the meeting, you must register before the start of the meeting tomorrow (September 10) and must register using one of these methods:

1. Online at http://www.honolulu.gov/ccl-testimony-form.html
2. Send a fax to 808-768-3826 (include your name, phone number, and subject matter)
3. You can fill out a registration form in person (before 10 AM tomorrow)
4. Call 808-768-3820 and inform them that you would like to testify (they will ask the same information of you as outlined in #2)

You can also submit a written testimony by the following methods:

1. Fax a copy of your testimony to 808-768-3826
2. You can send a copy of your testimony to http://www.honolulu.gov/ccl-testimony-form.html and it will be distributed during the meeting.
3. If you wish to hand deliver your testimony, you are required to print 15 hard copies for distribution to councilmembers

Written testimonies must include your address, email address and phone number. Your written testimony may also be posted and made available to the public on the City’s DocuShare Website. By submitting a written testimony, you are not automatically registered to speak at the meeting.

For more information on tomorrow’s City Council meeting, including information on speaker registration, submission of testimony and where you can view the meeting live if unable to attend in person. Click Here >