Governor Mike DeWine vetoed a bill on Thursday that would prohibit local governments in Ohio from enacting any laws regarding tobacco or vaping products that are more strict than state law.
DeWine scheduled a press conference with health authorities to discuss the legislation rather than just vetoing it, calling youth smoking an “epidemic” made worse by commercially available flavored tobacco products.
“We have an epidemic in Ohio we are seeing more and more of our young people starting to vape at a younger and younger age. This has been going on long enough now that we know that many of them then transition over to tobacco and we know the long-term consequences of that,” DeWine said.
According to a 2019 survey, 12 percent of middle school kids and nearly 30 percent of high school students in Ohio use flavored tobacco or vaping products.
The Columbus City Council unanimously voted last month to ban the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products within city limits. Under 48 hours later, the Ohio Senate approved a bill that would make Columbus City Council’s ban illegal.
House Bill (HB) 513, sponsored by state Representatives Jon Cross (R-Kenton ) and Bill Roemer created a “bad debt refund” for tobacco wholesalers, similar to the current sales tax refund for retail bad debt. A wholesaler who faces bad debt from tobacco sales could claim a refund from the state for the tax they pay upfront. An amendment to the bill stops cities from adding new fees or taxes to tobacco products, including cigarettes and vapes, or raising the age requirements to buy tobacco products.
According to the Ohio Constitution, local municipalities are free to enact their own rules as long as they don’t contradict broader state requirements.
Last month, DeWine hinted that he would veto the legislation telling reporters “I’m not going to say what I’m going to do with it but you might want to go back and look at what I did in the U.S. Senate.”
In 2004 when DeWine was a U.S. senator, he collaborated with U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) on a bill allowing the Federal Drug Administration to forbid tobacco product marketing to children and halt the sale of new flavored tobacco.
To garner support for a statewide ban, Ohio communities started implementing indoor smoking restrictions nearly 20 years ago. Public health organizations used the citizen-initiated statute process to place a statewide ban on indoor smoking on the 2006 ballot after lawmakers failed to take action. It passed with around 60 percent.
A group of communities approved local legislation to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 and over five years ago. The state raised the buying age to 21 and up in 2019.
Anti-smoking advocates, such as the American Heart Association, asked DeWine to veto the legislation. The association claims the legislation creates a one-size fits all approach, and Ohio is a home rule state.
“We ask that you not take away the ability for residents and councilors to act locally to address health issues like youth tobacco use. Essentially, don’t take away the power of our local governments. Residents and leaders know best how to address problems like youth tobacco use facing their community – because they see them up close. When they work together to come up with a solution, the state should help them improve it – not create roadblocks,” Dustin Holfinger with the American Heart Association said.
But supporters of HB 513, such as the Ohio Chambers of Commerce, say that Commerce should be uniform across the state “rather than using a patchwork of local rules and ordinances.”
Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said tobacco regulation is and should be a state issue, given that cities’ tobacco restrictions affect the state’s tax collections.
However, due to the dangers of tobacco products, DeWine decided it was in Ohio’s best interest to veto the legislation.
“This measure is not in the public interest and therefore I have vetoed this bill. There is a well-documented danger of tobacco products that I think we all know. Medical experts have been warning of the dangers of tobacco for decades. Simply the best way to prevent the health risk of smoking of course is never to start,” DeWine said.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mike DeWine” by Mike DeWine.
