Hawaii could become the first US state to raise smoking age to 21 for tobacco and e-cigarettes

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Hawaii is considering raising the legal smoking age to 21 in an effort to discourage teenagers from taking up the habit.

The move would make it the first place in the US to raise the bar state-wide, although that age is already enforced in Hawaii County and in other towns and districts.

Across most of the US, the legal purchasing age for cigarettes and tobacco is 18, although Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah raised it to 19 in recent years.

Hawaii’s Senate passed the bill by 19 votes to four but it will not become law until it is approved by Governor David Ige.

His spokesperson, Jodi Leong, said he would make a decision after fully reviewing the bill, probably during the course of next week.

The law would prevent under 21s from smoking, buying or possessing tobacco or electronic cigarettes.

Those caught breaking the rules would be fined $10 (£6.60) for the first offence and subsequent breaches would lead to a $50 (£33) fine or mandatory community service.

“It's definitely ground-breaking legislation,” said Jessica Yamauchi, executive director of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii.

“It's amazing to be the first state in something. That's very exciting for us.”

Opponents have raised the possibility of young soldiers returning from service overseas coming home to find they cannot smoke in an effort to argue against the change.

Democratic state Senator Rosalyn Baker, who sponsored the bill, told Reuters that it was the culmination of years of efforts to manage smoking including education and raised taxes.

She said opponents have argued that it limits choice for people considered adults by other standards but added: “To me, giving someone the choice to have lung cancer is not a good choice.”

According to the state's department of heath, 5,600 children in Hawaii try smoking each year and 90 per cent of daily smokers start before the age of 19. An estimated 1,200 people die from tobacco use or exposure in the state anually.

Researchers have found that raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 or 25 years old would significantly reduce smoking and tobacco-related illnesses in the country and that a majority of US adults support the change.

Similar moves are also being considered in Washington state and California.

The legal tobacco purchasing age was raised from 16 to 18 in England and Wales in 2007, although it is still legal to smoke in public aged 16.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the legal age for both smoking and purchasing is 18.

Additional reporting by agencies