Hawaiʻi requires every retailer of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and other tobacco products to obtain a state Department of Taxation Cigarette and Tobacco Retail Permit under HRS §245-2.5, and Honolulu enforces a minimum sales age of 21 statewide.
HRS §245-2.5 mandates that any business selling cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, vaping products, or other tobacco products in Hawaiʻi obtain an annual Cigarette and Tobacco Retail Permit from the Department of Taxation. The permit fee is $20 per location, and permits must be displayed at the point of sale. HRS §709-908 sets the minimum sales age at 21 — Hawaiʻi was the first state to enact Tobacco 21 in 2016, four years before federal law. Online and out-of-state shipments are tightly regulated, and flavored e-cigarette restrictions have been considered repeatedly in the legislature.
Selling without a permit is a misdemeanor with fines up to $500 per day. Selling to a minor incurs $500 to $2,000 fines plus potential permit revocation, and clerks face personal civil penalties.
Honolulu, HI
Hawaiʻi was the first US state to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21, effective January 2016 under HRS §709-908. The law covers cigarettes, cigars, e-cigar...
Honolulu, HI
Hawaiʻi has not yet enacted a comprehensive statewide flavored-tobacco ban, but Honolulu enforces FDA federal flavored-cigarette restrictions and state law p...
See how Honolulu's tobacco retail license rules stack up against other locations.
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