Subscribe Now
Choose a package that suits your preferences.
Start Free Account
Get access to 7 premium stories every month for FREE!
Already a Subscriber?
Current print subscriber? Activate your complimentary Digital account.
KAILUA-KONA — A bill aiming to ban cigarette sales failed to pass its first committee on Thursday.
The state House Committee on Health voted 7-0 to hold House Bill 1509, effectively killing it.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Richard Creagan (D-Naalehu, Ocean View, Captain Cook, Kealakekua and a portion of Kailua-Kona) sought to halt the sale of cigarettes by increasing the minimum age to 30 in 2020, 40 in 2021, 50 in 2022, 60 in 2023, and 100 in 2024.
The bill did not apply to electronic smoking devices or cigars, which Creagan, a physician, saw as safer alternatives. Chewing tobacco also is left out.