HB 1495 Summary

• Prohibits remote sellers (internet, mail order, telephone) from shipping cigarettes and tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices, to anyone in Hawaii except licensed wholesalers, dealers, or retailers with valid retail tobacco permits.

• Establishes a Class C felony offense for manufacturers, wholesalers, dealers, retailers, or other entities that knowingly violate the remote sale prohibition, with each shipment constituting a separate violation.

• Allows the Attorney General to pursue civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation in addition to criminal remedies.

• Adds four new definitions to Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 245: "electronic smoking device," "internet sale," "mail order," and "remote sale."

• Expands the definition of "tobacco products" to include electronic smoking devices and snus, while excluding FDA-approved drugs and devices.