Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed Senate Bill 2175 on Tuesday, making Hawaii the first state in the U.S. to approve a statewide sales ban on disposable e-cigarettes. Effective January 1, 2027, the law targets the rapid rise of youth nicotine addiction and the environmental toll of single-use electronic waste.
The legislative push responds to high rates of youth vaping across the islands. According to the 2025 Hawaii Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than 10% of high school students and 13% of middle school students used e-cigarettes in 2023.
During the bill-signing ceremony, Kalāheo High School freshman Maya Butts shared how vaping has disrupted her school environment, turning restrooms into places to vape and causing peers to lose motivation due to candy-flavored devices.
To address both retail availability and manufacturer accountability, Hawaii leadership enacted two complementary bills:
| Legislation | Core Mandate | Penalties / Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Senate Bill 2175 | Bans the sale of non-refillable and non-rechargeable e-cigarettes. | Fines of $100 per day for violators starting Jan. 1, 2027. |
| House Bill 1573 | Requires annual product certification from manufacturers. | Must certify compliance with Hawaii and federal regulations. |
Representative Scot Matayoshi, chair of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, stated that the legislation will clear the vast majority of vaping products off store shelves. By restricting sales to only 45 products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the law effectively removes flavored vapes that target children.
Beyond health concerns, SB 2175 addresses the environmental damage caused by disposable vapes. These single-use devices contribute heavily to plastic and lithium-ion battery waste in landfills. A 2023 report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group highlighted that Americans discard nearly 500,000 disposable e-cigarettes every single day.
- UK Proposes Plain Packaging and Flavor Curbs to Stop Youth Vaping - July 10, 2026
- Hawaii Bans Disposable E-Cigarettes: SB 2175 Signed Into Law - July 10, 2026
- Pennsylvania Act 57 Vape Law to Wipe Out 97% of Shop Inventory - July 10, 2026