Lawmakers in Hawaii on Friday passed a bill that has raised the legal smoking age across the state to 21. Passing of this bill made Hawaii the first state in the United States to make such implications regarding smoking.

The bill passed the state Senate by a vote of 19-4 after clearing the house last week. The bill will also put a ban on the sale, purchase or use of electronic cigarettes to all those who fall under the age of 21.

Democratic state Senator Rosalyn Baker said, “The activities we've engaged in over the years to manage smoking, our additional efforts in education, the raising of cigarette taxes, and this is a continuation of those policies”.

She stated that some opponents of the measure have argued that the bill would limit choice for people considered adults in other situations, like joining the military.

Governor David Ige will have to approve the measure, his spokeswoman Jodi Leong said that he would come to a decision only after reviewing the bill, which would likely happen next week.

Most of the US states set the legal smoking age at 18, while very few of them has set the age at 19. Some other cities and counties, including New York City and Hawaii County, have already risen the smoking age to 21.

It has been found that lawmakers in Washington state and California are also trying hard to push the legal smoking age to 21 in recent months.

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids revealed that tobacco use kills 1,400 people and costs some $526 million in medical bills annually in Hawaii. It further told that about 95% of adult smokers start smoking before they age of 21.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths annually, or one of every five deaths overall.