Last Friday, Hawaii will become the first state to raise the legal smoking age to 21.
If an underage tobacco user is caught then they will be charged $10 for the first offense and $50 after that.
If someone is caught selling a tobacco product to someone under 21, they will be fined $500.
Hawaii's governor David Inge signed the bill into a law last summer.
'Raising the minimum age as part of our comprehensive tobacco control efforts will help reduce tobacco use among our youth and increase the likelihood that our keiki will grow up tobacco-free,' said Inge, using the Hawaiian word for children.
In Hawaii, 86 per cent of adult smokers began smoking before age 21, according to the governor's office.
'I think it's going to have a tremendous impact,' said Jessica Yamauchi, executive director of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii. 'By really limiting the access it will really help to curb the prevalence.'
Opponents have said it's unfair that a veteran returning from military service who risked his or her life serving the country could be prevented from lighting up.
According to the state Department of Heath, 5,600 kids in Hawaii try smoking every year. Meanwhile, 1,400 people die from tobacco use or exposure in Hawaii every year, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Inge signed another anti-smoking measure Friday to make Hawaii's state parks and beaches smoke-free.
'This allows us to put one more impediment to people smoking too much,' Inge said.
Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah all raised the smoking age to 19. (Daily Mail)
PHOTO: Signed, sealed delivered: David Inge, pictured in June, signed the bill into law last summer. In Hawaii, 86 percent of adult smokers began smoking before age 21, according to the governor's office.
CREDIT: AP.