Brooke Metz

USA TODAY

The new law — which went into effect Jan. 1 — bans those under 21 from buying tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes.

Most smokers start smoking before age 21, and about half become daily smokers before 18, the Hawaii State Department of Health said in a press release.

While smoking has decreased greatly in Hawaii, use of e-cigarettes is on the rise. 22% of high school students have tried e-cigarettes, compared with only 5% in 2011, according to the same release.

The act is an effort to reverse this trend by making e-cigarettes less accessible and less attractive, said Lola Irvin, Administrator for the Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division.

"Prevention is the best strategy, and youth are especially vulnerable to nicotine addiction," Irvin said in the release. "By prohibiting their use in public places, the new laws encourage a no-smoking norm."



Brooke Metz is a recent graduate of Wake Forest University and a USA TODAY College web producer.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.