Hawaii Is Considering Banning the Sale of Cigarettes Entirely by incrementally increasing the minimum age from 40 in 2021 to 100 by 2024
According to the Associated Press, Democratic state Representative Richard Creagan wants to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 30 in 2020. The age would increase incrementally to 40 in 2021, 50 in 2022, 60 in 2023, and 100 in 2024. So unless the state has a large contingent of smoking centenarians, it seems unlikely that stores would continue to carry packs of Camels or Marlboro Lights.
However, the ban wouldn't cover all tobacco products. Cigars, chewing tobacco, and e-cigarette products (many of which contain nicotine) would remain exempt and therefore available.
Although this marks a shift in the national discussion surrounding cigarettes, the measure has historical precedent. Fifteen states banned the sale of cigarettes from 1890 to 1927, partially overlapping with Prohibition (from 1920 to 1933). The cigarette ban was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court, but industry pressure and the appeal of tax revenue put an end to those bans.
Interesting that the previous ban in the USA was actually upheld legally, but it collapsed due to lobbying and loss of tax revenue… greedy government! Of course, now governments have spread their tax categories way wider but it will likely still not be around health considerations where things get unstuck. Politics is all about politics and stances are often taken purely along party lines (in any country).
See https://mentalfloss.com/article/573001/hawaii-considering-banning-sale-cigarettes-entirely
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Hawaii Is Considering Banning the Sale of Cigarettes Entirely If approved, a total ban on cigarette sales would be in effect by 2024. |