The legislature of Hawaii wants to ban the sale of cigarettes in the state by gradually increasing the minimum age to purchase cigarettes until it reaches 100 in 2024.
House Bill 1509 calls for progressive increases of the minimum age:
- Effective Jan. 1, 2020, it would be unlawful to sell cigarettes to a person under the age of 30
- Effective July 1, 2021, it would be unlawful to sell cigarettes to a person under the age of 40
- Effective July 1, 2022, it would be unlawful to sell cigarettes to a person under the age of 50
- Effective July 1, 2023, it would be unlawful to sell cigarettes to a person under the age of 60
- Effective July 1, 2024, it would be unlawful to sell cigarettes to a person under the age of 100
Violators would be subject to a fine of $500 for the first offense. Any subsequent violation would be punishable by a fine of between $500 and $2,000.
In 2018, the state banned the sales of cigarettes to those under 21 years of age.
The minimum age increases would not apply to other tobacco products or electronic smoking devices, which the legislature regards as less harmful than cigarettes.
Justifying its proposal, the Hawaii legislature points to studies showing that cigarettes smokers who quit smoking cigarettes by the time they reach 30 or 40 have a greatly increased chance at having a normal life span. While quitting at the age of 50 or 60 has a smaller effect, it still lengthens an individual’s lifespan by six to four years, respectively, according to the studies cited by the legislature.
The legislature did not cite research on the benefits of quitting before the age of 100.