Multiple individuals testified Friday during a Maui County Council meeting in support of a bill that hopes to ban e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products on the island some day.

On Friday’s agenda was Committee Report 24-119 from the Water Authority, Social Services and Parks Committee, that recommended the first reading of Bill 156, a bill for an ordinance to amend the Maui County Code to prohibit retailers from selling or marketing flavored tobacco products and mislabeling products as nicotine-free.

Leslie Garo, representing Hawai’i Public Health Institute as the Maui County coordinator for the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai’i, spoke out in support of the legislation.

“A survey from December 2023 found that 73% of registered voters in Maui County were in support of a law prohibiting all flavors, including menthol, of tobacco products and e-cigarettes,” she said. “Seventy-six percent of those voters said that school-age children vaping or using e-cigarettes is a major problem.”

She also said that “Maui County has the highest rate of high school students who use e-cigarettes in the state at 15%.”

Teachers also testified Friday on the issue, with written testimony coming from representatives from The Hawai’i State Teachers Association, Alexander Academy Performing Company and Kihei Charter School.

“As educators, we see firsthand the harmful effects of nicotine addiction on our students,” The Hawai’i State Teachers Association said in a written statement. “Flavored tobacco products, with their appealing smells and tastes, are a gateway to a lifetime of health problems and dependence. These products are deliberately designed to appeal to young people, hooking them on nicotine and undermining their ability to learn, grow, and thrive.”

According to the bill, if passed, the ordinance would take effect 42 days after a repeal of any state statutes related to preempting county ordinances on the sale of tobacco products occurs.

All council members present Friday voted in support of the committee’s recommendations.

The bill will be reviewed again during a later council meeting for final approval.