Green signs tobacco, vaping bans to protect Big Island keiki

Gov. Josh Green signed two bills on July 7 that will force Hawaii Island retailers to pull disposable vaping devices from sale and prove that the nicotine products they keep on shelves are federally authorized. The measures, now Act 189 and Act 190, set a January 1, 2027, cutoff for disposable electronic smoking devices and create a public directory of compliant products that the state will use to police the market.

For Big Island convenience stores, smoke shops and other sellers, disposable e-cigarettes may not be sold, offered for sale or distributed after the deadline, and violations can bring fines of up to $100 a day for each offense. HB 1573 also requires manufacturers to certify that their products have FDA marketing authorization and comply with state and federal law, while the Department of the Attorney General is charged with keeping the public directory current so regulators can separate lawful products from illegal ones.

E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among young people, and CDC data show 85.7% of middle school users and 88.2% of high school users reported flavored e-cigarettes in 2024. Hawaii School Health Survey materials put the share of Hawaii middle school students who have ever used an electronic vapor product at 17%, and Living Healthy Hawaii puts the share of Hawaii high school students who vape and are addicted to nicotine at 46%. A 2024 report found that most high school students in Hawaii who confirm they vape live in Hawaii County.

As of May 5, 2026, Hawaii Attorney General tobacco-enforcement materials list only 45 ENDS products and 26 nicotine pouches as FDA-authorized. Green, who practiced medicine on the Big Island, linked the new laws to what he saw in Hawaii Island emergency rooms, where the effects of violence, addiction and unhealthy environments were visible in real cases.