The Honolulu City Council on a split vote Wednesday passed a measure to prohibit sales of flavored tobacco products in an effort to keep them out of the hands of Oahu’s youth.

Although it drew expected resistance from tobacco users and retailers, Bill 46 was also opposed by local and national health groups — and at least one state agency — who all objected to newly added exemptions for specific tobacco-related products, including hookahs, premium cigars and loose-leaf and shisha tobaccos.

Others believed adopting the measure at all was pointless, as Bill 46 would take effect only if a 5-year-old state law — Act 206, which stripped authority from Hawaii’s four largest counties to regulate or restrict the sales and use of tobacco and nicotine products — is overturned and suspended.

Out of that law, the state Department of Taxation collects tobacco tax money — almost $96.9 million in 2022. Of that amount, $86.02 million was collected from Oahu alone, according to state reports.

If Act 206 does disappear, then the city measure introduced by Council Chair Tommy Waters and Council member Matt Weyer will create a so-called trigger ban on flavored tobacco products — which variously offer the taste or smell of fruit, menthol, mint, chocolate, honey or any candy, among others — that target youth smokers.

As adopted, Bill 46 intends to ban flavored tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices, that contain “a characterizing flavor or that impacts a cooling or numbing sensation during consumption of a tobacco product,” the bill reads.

The measure notes a 2019 state Department of Health study that showed more than 30% of Hawaii high school students regularly use electronic smoking devices. These devices, the bill states, have been linked to severe lung disease, pose potential harm to brain development and might cause acute nicotine poisoning. And, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, across a range of tobacco products, flavorings are one the main reasons that youth initiate tobacco use.

Prior to the vote, Cynthia Au of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network said her nonprofit group “respectfully opposed” the latest version of Bill 46 due to the exemptions on certain tobacco products. She added the measure’s definition of tobacco products “creates a conflicting definition with a Hawaii state law.”

“The county and state definition of tobacco products should align to avoid any confusion which may have unintended consequences and affect current comprehensive tobacco regulations,” Au said.

She asked the Council to “please reconsider exempting any tobacco products, which is a tobacco industry tactic to erode current tobacco policies in the state.”

Jill Tamashiro, a public health educator at the Department of Health, also opposed the latest version of Bill 46.

“And we stand in opposition specifically to the exemptions of certain tobacco products as well as the changes made to the definition of tobacco products,” Tamashiro said.

She added that the DOH “sets a standard and we recommend aligning with that” as far as the city’s measure was concerned. Still, Tama­shiro said the bill was “long awaited” as “many youths in Honolulu County are exposed to e-cigarettes by way of flavors, and we thank you for the Council’s action on this.”

Don Weisman of the American Heart Association also opposed Bill 46.

“Our position is that we reserve our support for a comprehensive policy that does not exempt any tobacco products from flavor restrictions,” Weisman said. “And the current (measure) allows those types of exemptions which the tobacco industry has a long history and expertise in circumventing.”

Three on the Council — Calvin Say, Andria Tupola and Augie Tulba — had issues with the bill, ultimately voting against the measure.

“I believe there are significant issues with this bill that have not been addressed,” Tulba said prior to the vote. “County laws and regulations relating to the sale of tobacco products are preempted by state law. Although the bill contains ‘triggering language,’ I think we do a disservice to the people when we pass laws that are dependent on the state taking action that it has no intention of taking.”

He added that Bill 46 does not outline how the enforcement of a tobacco ban would occur.

“This is an issue because the city is dealing with a lot of vacancies,” Tulba said. “The enforcement of a tobacco ban would require manpower, but we have yet to discuss which department would take this on and how to fill these positions.”

Under Council questioning, Honolulu Police De­partment Capt. Michael Kunishima confirmed that HPD enforces existing alcohol and tobacco sales laws throughout the city, via a federal grant that funds underage decoy operations.

He added that those decoy operations are conducted once a year.

“(Officers) go to the over 800 establishments that have registered tobacco sales,” Kunishima said. “An officer would have to be posted to witness a sale, and then the underage buyer would go up and do the transaction.”

In 2022, out of the more than 800 regulated establishments in the city, over 55 retailers received citations for selling tobacco to minors, according to Kunishima.

After the meeting, Waters suggested passage of Bill 46 was a start to future, similar actions against tobacco.

“I believe that this is just the beginning of our work to address this critical issue,” Waters said in a written statement. “There is still much to be done at the state level to address preemption issues, and the discussion (Oct. 4) additionally indicates to me that, moving forward, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to ensure these policies deliver the desired results and minimize unintended consequences.”

Although Waters and Weyer sponsored this latest anti-tobacco legislation, according to the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission, they have both received past contributions from local lobbyists with ties to the tobacco industry.

In April 2022, Weyer received a $500 political contribution from Ross Yamasaki, a lobbyist who works for Altria Client Services LLC, connected to tobacco companies Philip Morris USA Inc., a leading cigarette manufacturer, and John Middleton Co., which manufactures cigars and pipe tobacco.

Similarly, in April 2022, Weyer received a $500 political contribution from Bruce A. Coppa, a lobbyist who works for Capitol Consultants of Hawaii LLC. According to the Campaign Spending Commission, from January 2021 to December 2022, Coppa and his firm represented Reynolds American Inc., the U.S. parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., American Snuff Co. and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., among others.

Likewise, in March 2021, Waters received a $1,000 political contribution from Coppa’s firm, while it still represented Reynolds American Inc., according to the commission.

Both Waters and Weyer could not be immediately reached for comment regarding the reported campaign contributions.