History

• The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi (CTFH) is born: an informal group of stakeholders seeking to lift the burden of tobacco-related health concerns from Hawaii’s people.
• Tobacco-Free Maui coalition forms.

• Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i receives grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation under the fiscal umbrella of American Cancer Society.
• First Executive Director of CTFH hired.
• Hawaiʻi institutes a $1-a-pack cigarette tax; the first state in the nation.

• Tobacco-Free Kauaʻi coalition forms.
• The Master Settlement Agreement is reached, with the four largest cigarette manufacturers ordered to pay 46 states including Hawaiʻi in perpetuity, due to the harms and health costs caused by their products.

• Tobacco-Free Big Island coalition forms.
• Hawaiʻi creates the Tobacco Prevention & Control Trust Fund using Master Settlement Agreement funds. To this day, it continues to provide long-term, sustainable funding for Hawaii’s tobacco prevention and cessation efforts.

Maui County passes law for smoke-free restaurants and bars.

• City & County of Honolulu passes law for smoke-free restaurants and bars.
• Kauaʻi County passes law for smoke-free restaurants, bars, and most public indoor spaces.

Hawaiʻi County passes law for smoke-free restaurants, bars, and workplaces.

Hawaiʻi passes Smoke-Free Indoor Air Law.

• CTFH becomes a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
• City and County of Honolulu implements a 0.5% transportation surcharge increase to fund transportation projects.

Hawaiʻi County passes law for smoke-free beaches, parks, and recreational facilities (on Earth Day).

• CTFH hires six coalition coordinators (East Hawaiʻi, West Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi, Maui, Molokai, and Oʻahu).
• CTFH provides fiscal management for REAL Youth Advocacy program.
• Hawaiʻi County passes law for smoke-free vehicles in the presence of minors.

• CTFH awarded a grant from the National Network for Public Health Institutes to explore becoming a Public Health Institute.
• Board of Directors votes to expand mission beyond tobacco (initial name: Healthy Communities Hawaiʻi).
• Kauaʻi County passes resolution requesting park users refrain from smoking when other park patrons are in close proximity.
• Maui Memorial Hospital goes tobacco-free.
• Maui County adopts Complete Streets resolution that reasonably accommodates convenient access and mobility for all users of the public highways.

• Named Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute, becoming provisional member of the National Network for Public Health Institutes.
• HIPHI receives first grant from Kaiser Permanente to launch the institute.
• Hawaiʻi County raises the age of sale for all tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices, to 21 years, becoming the fourth county in the country to do so.

• HIPHI launches Perspectives on Community Health Initiative.
• HIPHI begins chronic disease prevention work with Hawaiʻi State Department of Health.
• HIPHI receives Voices for Healthy Kids funding for a sugar-sweetened beverage fee campaign.
• Maui County passes laws for smoke-free beaches and parks (on Earth Day).
• Hawaiʻi County adds use of Electronic Smoking Devices to smoke-free air law.
• Hawaiʻi passes smoke-free public housing law.

• HIPHI Become a recognized full member of the National Network of Public Health Institutes.
• HIPHI/CTFH lead effort resulting in raising the age of sale for all tobacco products (including electronic smoking devices) to 21, making Hawaiʻi the first state in the nation.
• Hawaiʻi adds use of Electronic Smoking Devices to smoke-free air law.
• Hawaiʻi passes law for tobacco-free state parks.
• Maui County passes law for smoke-free bus stops.

• Healthy Eating + Acting Living (HEAL) coalitions launched.
• Obesity Prevention Task Force convened by HIPHI.
• CTFH celebrates 20th anniversary.
• CTFH Youth Council launched.
• HIPHI partners with Hawaiʻi State Department of Health to implement Choose Healthy Now Initiative.
• CTFH/HIPHI runs first counter-marketing campaign. Anti-Electronic Smoking Device radio ads begin running.
• HIPHI and partners go on the road to talk story about health with the Pilinaha Statewide Forums.
• Age 21 law goes into effect January 1.
• Kauaʻi County passes law for smoke-free vehicles.
• Lydgate Park on Kauaʻi goes smoke-free.
• Obesity Prevention Task Force leads effort resulting in passing of physical examination requirement for seventh graders.
• Hawaiʻi hospitals and hospital grounds go tobacco-free.

• Farm to School Hui joins HIPHI.
• 808NoVape project initiated.
• First Legislative Recap is produced and provided to lawmakers, partners, and coalition members.
• KTA Superstores becomes first Choose Healthy Now grocery store; 7-Eleven also joins the program.
• HIPHI Executive DirectorJessica Yamauchi  joins National Network for Public Health Institutes’ Board of Directors.
• HIPHI partners with Hawaiʻi State Department of Health on Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association’s Hoʻola Conference.
• HIPHI and Hawaiʻi State Department of Health host first CHW Conference in Hawaiʻi.
• HIPHI provides fiscal management support to Pacific Birth Collective.
• City & County of Honolulu turns Smoke-Free Vehicle ordinance into law.

• Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth joins HIPHI.
• Maui Food Access work begins.
• Public Health Training Hui moves under HIPHI’s umbrella.
• HIPHI holds first neighbor island board and staff retreat at Kilauea Military Camp.
• CTFH Youth Council advocates for tobacco-free zones and wins awards.
• HIPHI hosts first annual summer social.
• HIPHI hosts Electronic Smoking Devices Conference, Healthy Beverage Summit,  and Community Health Worker strategic planning session and regional meetings (in partnership with Hawaiʻi State Department of Health).
• HIPHI launches 808NoVape counter-marketing ads.
• Maui County prohibits smoking in vehicles when a minor is present.
• Poipu Beach Park on Kauaʻi goes smoke-free.
• Hawaiʻi passes law for smoke-free state university and college campuses.

• Hawaiʻi Oral Health Coalition convened by HIPHI.
• HIPHI co-hosts the 14th Annual National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships and Pūpūkahi I Holomua: For and About Community Health Workers.
• HIPHI Executive Director begins two-year term as Chair for National Network for Public Health Institutes’ Board of Directors.
• Maui Nui Food Alliance established to support and promote a healthy food system for our future, while honoring the Native Hawaiian traditions of Maui Nui’s past.
• Hawaiʻi County passes a Vision Zero Strategic Plan Resolution.

• First neighbor island office opens on Maui.
• Kūpuna Food Security Coalition is born.
• HIPHI distributes $3M in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding to kūpuna for meals and wrap-around social services.
• HIPHI and partners galvanize for COVID-19 response: providing weekly webinars, emails, and resources.
• Food Systems & Resiliency program born.
• Hawaiʻi Farm to School Hui receives $224,840 United States Department of Agriculture funding.

• HIPHI internship program expands, with 74 applications received, and 39 interns and  volunteers hosted. Approximately 77% were undergraduate students and 23% graduate students.
• Maui County enacts Social Host Ordinance, holding the host of a gathering accountable for illegal underage drinking occurring at their homes/properties.
• Maui County passes Vision Zero Maui Action Plan to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2040.

• The Hawai‘i Oral Health Coalition successfully advocated to restore preventative dental coverage for adults on Medicaid, helping to support the oral health of nearly 266,000 people. HIPHI also supported efforts to raise the minimum wage, which will be increased to $18 per hour by 2028.
• Sponsored 18 trainings with an average of over 200 participants to advance mental health awareness and access, intimate partner violence prevention, and reducing body stigma in the workplace.
• Distributed 27,000 COVID-19 self-test kits to community based organizations who serve varied communities statewide. Supported 253 community outreach events statewide, including 134 events offering free vaccines. Disseminated over 21,000 education materials to support keiki health statewide.
• Supported nine food security projects to provide meals & wraparound health and social services for thousands of low-income kūpuna.

• HIPHI celebrated ten years as a public health institute. In 2013, we officially changed our name from Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i to Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, expanding our mission to encompass a broader range of public health issues.
• Three major bills were passed at the state legislature: regulating e-cigarettes by taxing them at the same rate as other tobacco products, requiring wholesalers and retailers to obtain a tobacco license/permit, and restricting online shipping of all tobacco products (Act 62), securing up to $20M for Safe Routes to School program over two years (Act 244), and increasing oral healthcare providers by allowing qualified graduates of accredited Canadian dental schools to apply for service licenses to practice in specific settings, including community health centers (Act 100).
• Through the Community Health Workers (CHWs) for COVID Response and Resilient Communities project, HIPHI partnered with the Hawai‘i State Department of Health to recruit, hire, train, and deploy CHWs and Bilingual Health Aides (BHAs) in local health organizations to support the pandemic response and address related chronic disease burdens across Hawai’i.
• More than 100 individuals representing multiple counties, sectors, and interest groups gathered for the first-ever Hawaiʻi Food Systems Summit, convened to prioritize the state, county, and federal policies needed to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food system.
• Became a sponsor site for AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America), a national community service program that aims to eliminate and alleviate poverty in the U.S. and build healthy communities. HIPHI partnered with Aloha Harvest, and Project Vision Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network, and Hawai‘i State Department of Health – Kaua‘i District Health Office to place six AmeriCorps VISTA members in 2023.

• The Hawai‘i Community Health Worker Association was honored to receive the 2024 CHW Group of the Year award from the American Public Health Association at their annual conference.
• Our advocacy at the state legislature resulted in sustained funding for DA BUX, which makes locally grown produce more affordable for families in need, and dental hygienists are able to apply dental sealants in school-based health clinics, increasing oral health access.
• Supported Maui wildfire recovery efforts through the Gardens for Resilience and Climate Education (GrACE) program, using the healing power of food and gardening to foster resilience in challenging times.
• The Hawai‘i Public Health Training Hui expanded its CEU portfolio and can now offer nursing, medical and pharmacy credits at trainings, free of charge.
• Through the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), HIPHI provides technical assistance to the Hawai‘i State Department of Health and local health departments in the Pacific Islands to strengthen their public health workforce and infrastructure.

• Hawai‘i Immunization Coalition (HIC) officially joins HIPHI! HIC is a state-wide, community-based group of public and private organizations, healthcare providers, public health professionals, and concerned individuals who strive to promote effective strategies and create opportunities to advance the status of immunization in Hawai‘i.
• Hired the first Director of Community Preparedness and Resilience. This position will focus on environmental health, food systems, crisis management, and community resiliency to strengthen HIPHI’s ability to help communities respond, adapt, and persist in the face of challenges and adversity.
• Policy wins: expansion of free school meals for ALICE families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level and Hawai‘i became the first state in the nation to declare climate change a public health crisis.
• Launched the Give Back Get Back Student Loan Repayment Program in partnership with the Department of Health, distributing $1.2 million in funds to 55 public health professionals to encourage employee retention and ensure public health expertise stays in Hawai‘i.