Hawaii becomes fourth state with e-cigarette restrictions

Gov. David Ige has signed legislation including electronic smoking devices in the state’s smoke-free law. 

Ige signed Act 19 (HB 940) on Thursday, restricting the use of e-cigarettes, in all locations where smoking is illegal in the state. Hawaii joins North Dakota, New Jersey and Utah, which have similar laws.

“The use of e-cigarettes in existing smoke-free locations has had the potential to expose non-smokers and vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women, to aerosolized nicotine and other toxic substances, which could be dangerous to one’s health. Studies have found that there is enormous variability among e-cigarette devices in terms of their design, operation, contents, and emissions of carcinogens, other toxicants, and nicotine,” the state Department of Health said in a press release.

“These products currently are not regulated and many of the hazardous components in cigarettes are also found in e-cigarette emissions,” said Director of Health Dr. Virginia Pressler. “Just as we found that smoking was dangerous after many years of unrestricted use, we could be unintentionally harming people as a result of not including e-cigarettes as part of our smoke-free laws.”