After years of struggle, anti-vape advocates have eventually prospered in authorizing a prohibition on flavored vaping and other tobacco products. On Tuesday, 3 May 2022, the state House released an amended form of HB (House Bill) 1570 by 36-15 vote. The state Senate has already sanctioned the bill.
The bill has to be signed by the Hawaii Governor, David Ige, to be implemented or rejected. The bill will come into effect from 1 July if David signs it as anticipated. If this happens, Hawaii will be the fifth state in the US to ban flavored vapes.
The law aims to forbid the selling of all flavored nicotine and tobacco products except for those in tobacco flavor. The flavor ban covers products including cigarettes, lozenges, cigars, vaping products, smokeless tobacco, and nicotine pouches. Although menthol is on the prohibited list, the ban grants exemption for nicotine products sanctioned through the PMTA process of the FDA. Though FDA has not approved any menthol flavored vape products until now.
Some anti-vaping activists have withdrawn from HB 1570. Due to the PMTA exclusion, an amendment by the Senate and some other amendments projected in the House Bill that were declined later. Scot Z. Matayoshi, the sponsoring Representative of the bill, said that he would present a bill to eliminate the exclusion in the coming House session.
Before the concluding votes, Matayoshi said that they have been trying for years in this chamber to approve a legislature banning or restricting flavored vapes. And that they stand against these addictions to offer some hope to the new generation that they won’t have to stay addicted to nicotine all their life.
PHOTO by VOX
When the governor passes the law, it will impose a fine of $500 for a first-time violation and $500 to 2500 for further violations. The legislation would also punish the vendors for mislabeling nicotine-containing products as nicotine-free.
Many flavor ban bills were presented to the Hawaii administration during this session. CASAA has instructed to issue two of these bans in February, including HB 1570. Vaping businesses such as innovative producers and vendor Volcano in Hawaii strongly opposed the bill.
While in talks with Honolulu Civil Beat, Hawaii local news agency, the Volcano CEO Scott Rasak said that 99.9% of all the products in the industry are sold to adult customers lawfully after confirming their age. He also said it’d affect hundreds of businesses and thousands of jobs as the revenue generated through these products will flew away.
Massachusetts banned flavored vapes in November 2019 and became the first state in the US to restrict flavored vaping. Rhode Island, New Jersey, and New York have also banned it after a few weeks. Further, California approved a flavor ban in August 2020. However, the law is postponed until it receives votes for approval in the November 2022 referendum.
