STAND. COM. REP. NO. 554-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2121

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2121, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WASTE MANAGEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to prohibit the sale, offer for sale, or distribution for sale of any disposable electronic smoking device in the State beginning January 1, 2027.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience of the County of Hawaiʻi; University of Hawaiʻi Student Health Advisory Council; Hawaii COPD Coalition; Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center; Island of Hawaii YMCA; Hawaiʻi Public Health Association; Friends of Kamalani & Lydgate Park; Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi Youth Council; Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi; Hamakua-Kohala Health; Hawaiʻi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!; American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaii Chapter; CARES; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that between 2017 and 2022, disposable electronic smoking devices (ESD) tripled in nicotine strength, quintupled in e-liquid capacity, and dropped nearly seventy percent in price and between February 2020 and September 2025 the proportion of total ESD unit sales attributable to disposable ESDs increased from twenty-six percent to 56.5 per cent. Your Committee further finds that disposable ESDs are cheap, widely, available, and easy to use and often come in candy or fruity flavors, making them a popular choice for teenagers and youth. However, because of a lack of appropriate handling guidelines, most individuals throw their disposable ESDs into the regular trash, which allows for microplastics and harmful chemicals inside the products to leach into the environment. This measure is intended to protect the public health and safeguard the State's communities and natural resources by prohibiting the sale of disposable electronic smoking devices.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2121, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair