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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / 2016
A student makes a call outside the University of Hawaii at Manoa Campus Center in 2016. Smoking and tobacco use, including vaping, is officially banned on all 10 of the University of Hawaii’s campuses under a new law.
Smoking and tobacco use, including vaping, is officially banned on all 10 of the University of Hawaii’s campuses under a new law.
The prohibition applies in all indoor and outdoor areas on UH property and took effect Tuesday when Senate Bill 134 became law. It covers the use of cigarettes, electronic smoking devices, cigars, pipes, and chewing tobacco.
The law does not prohibit possession, just use.
“Mahalo to Hawaii’s policymakers for protecting current UH students and future generations form dangerous secondhand smoke and e-cigarette aerosol,” said Davin Aoyagi, grassroots manager for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. “UH campuses are meant to help Hawaii’s future generations learn and grow, not foster potentially deadly tobacco addictions.”
While tobacco use has declined in Hawaii, the use of e-cigarettes had been rising rapidly, especially among youth, according to the state Health Department. Almost all smokers start before age 26.
More than 1,800 colleges and university campuses nationwide are tobacco-free.
Hawaii residents who want to stop smoking may call the Hawaii Quitline at 800-784-8669.
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