People in Ohio will be able to buy and smoke flavored tobacco products again after the ban was overturned by the state senate. Photo credit: PxHere
The Ohio Senate voted to override governor Mike DeWine’s veto on a provision that would ban local governments from enacting regulations on the sale of tobacco as well as banning flavored tobacco products. In three months, cities like Columbus, Worthington, and other central Ohio cities will no longer have the authority stop stores from selling flavored tobacco products.
The ban on the products just came into effect at the start of the year.
Despite Republican state lawmakers' repeated attempts, DeWine's vetoes continued to prevent them from stopping local governments from restricting the sale of tobacco and flavored tobacco products. He rejected such a proposal in 2022. Then, last July, saying that local bans were "essential" in reducing nicotine use, particularly among children, he removed the provision from the state budget. “The removal of local regulation would encourage youth nicotine addiction and immediately undo years of progress to improve public health, which is why a similar provision was previously vetoed,” he said.
DeWine called the recent votes by lawmakers in both chambers of the Statehouse a win for tobacco companies and a loss for kids.
Over the next weeks, state legislators will collaborate with the tobacco industry and governor to come up with a compromise, according to Senate president Matt Huffman (R).
Many Republican state lawmakers said the override was necessary to protect the livelihoods of small business owners.