State health and legal officials urge bill to let Hawaii enforce FDA list of approved e‑cigarettes

Supporters of HB1573 HD3 told the Senate joint committee that the bill would fill an enforcement gap by giving state agencies tools to police unauthorized e‑cigarette products sold locally.

Terry Visperas, representing Dr. Jack Lewin and the Department of Health, said the department supports the measure and that the state needs explicit enforcement authority because the FDA has authorized only 41 e‑cigarette products nationwide. Chelsea Okomoto, a Deputy Attorney General and supervisor of the Tobacco Enforcement Unit, said the vaping industry created many products that target youth and that her unit has been educating retailers about the authorized list; the bill would create a directory, civil monetary penalties, inspection and seizure authority and channel penalty revenue back into enforcement.

Kevin Ramirez of the Hawaii Public Health Institute said unauthorized products are driving a youth vaping epidemic and argued the state should act to protect children. Witnesses from medical and public‑health organizations—including the Hawaii Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaii chapter—registered support; the Hawaii Smokers Alliance was among registered opponents.

Committee members asked whether the tobacco enforcement unit has capacity to take on these inspections and what penalties would apply. Okomoto said the existing investigators will incorporate directory enforcement and that the bill authorizes civil penalties, seizure authority and referrals to the Department of Taxation for license revocation.

The committee noted prior action (Act 62 of 2023, cited in testimony) that added e‑cigarettes to the tax schedule and discussed the small number of FDA‑authorized products as a practical enforcement asset. No formal final vote on HB1573 HD3 was recorded in this hearing segment; the matter was included in the committee's broader decision agenda and scheduling remarks at the end of the session.