2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes
Title 37. Hawaii Penal Code
712. Offenses Against Public Health and Morals
712-1258 Tobacco products and electronic smoking devices; persons under twenty-one years of age.
§712-1258 Tobacco products and electronic smoking devices; persons under twenty-one years of age. (1) It shall be unlawful to sell or furnish a tobacco product in any shape or form or an electronic smoking device to a person under twenty-one years of age.
(2) All persons engaged in the retail sale of tobacco products or electronic smoking devices shall check the identification of tobacco product or electronic smoking device purchasers to establish the age of the purchaser if the purchaser reasonably appears to be under twenty-seven years of age.
(3) It shall be an affirmative defense that the seller of a tobacco product or an electronic smoking device to a person under twenty-one years of age in violation of this section had requested, examined, and reasonably relied upon a photographic identification from the person establishing that person's age as at least twenty-one years of age prior to selling the person a tobacco product or an electronic smoking device. The failure of a seller to request and examine photographic identification from a person under twenty-one years of age prior to the sale of a tobacco product or an electronic smoking device to the person shall be construed against the seller and form a conclusive basis for the seller's violation of this section.
(4) Signs using the statement, "The sale of tobacco products or electronic smoking devices to persons under twenty-one is prohibited", shall be posted on or near any vending machine in letters at least one-half inch high and at or near the point of sale of any other location where tobacco products or electronic smoking devices are sold in letters at least one-half inch high.
(5) It shall be unlawful for a person under twenty-one years of age to purchase or possess any tobacco product or electronic smoking device, as those terms are defined in subsection (7). This provision does not apply if a person under the age of twenty-one, with parental authorization, is participating in a controlled purchase as part of a law enforcement activity or a study authorized by the department of health under the supervision of law enforcement to determine the level of incidence of tobacco or electronic smoking devices sales to persons under twenty-one years of age.
(6) Any person who violates subsection (1) or (4), or both, shall be fined $500 for the first offense. Any subsequent offenses shall subject the person to a fine not less than $500 nor more than $2,000. Any person under twenty-one years of age who violates subsection (5) shall be fined $10 for the first offense. Any subsequent offense shall subject the violator to a fine of $50, no part of which shall be suspended, or the person shall be required to perform not less than forty-eight hours nor more than seventy-two hours of community service during hours when the person is not employed and is not attending school. Any tobacco product or electronic smoking device, as those terms are defined in subsection (7), in the person's possession at the time of violation of subsection (5) shall be seized, summarily forfeited to the State, and destroyed by law enforcement following the conclusion of an administrative or judicial proceeding finding that a violation of subsection (5) has been committed. The procedures set forth in chapter 712A shall not apply to this subsection.
(7) For the purposes of this section:
"Electronic smoking device" means any electronic product that can be used to aerosolize and deliver nicotine or other substances to the person inhaling from the device, including but not limited to an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, or electronic pipe, and any cartridge or other component of the device or related product.
"Tobacco product" means any product made or derived from tobacco that contains nicotine or other substances and is intended for human consumption or is likely to be consumed, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, or ingested by other means. "Tobacco product" includes but is not limited to a cigarette, cigar, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, snus, or an electronic smoking device. "Tobacco product" does not include drugs, devices, or combination products approved for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. [L 2016, c 231, §50; am L 2018, c 206, §8]
COMMENTARY ON §712-1258
Act 231, Session Laws 2016, added this section to implement recommendations made by the Penal Code Review Committee convened pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution No. 155, S.D. 1 (2015).
Act 206, Session Laws 2018, amended this section to: (1) require retailers of tobacco products or electronic smoking devices to check the identification of tobacco or electronic smoking device purchasers who reasonably appear to be under twenty-seven years of age; (2) prohibit a person under the age of twenty-one from possessing any tobacco product or electronic smoking device; and (3) establish procedures for the forfeiture and destruction of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices that are illegally purchased or possessed by a person under the age of twenty-one. The legislature found that the use of electronic smoking devices, also known as e-cigarettes, is proliferating and that the electronic smoking device industry is rapidly expanding. According to a 2016 report by the United States Surgeon General, e-cigarette use among the nation's youth and young adults has become a major public health concern. For these reasons, the legislature found it necessary, as a matter of statewide concern, to regulate the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, and electronic smoking devices in a uniform and exclusive manner. Conference Committee Report No. 170-18.
