COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine on Thursday announced he vetoed a bill that would have banned municipalities from enacting tobacco laws stricter than current state laws.
The Ohio House and Senate passed HB 513 last month. Lawmakers argued the regulation of tobacco products and alternative nicotine products is a statewide concern that should require statewide regulation.
DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, along with Dr. Sara Bode of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, held a press briefing to discuss the dangers of smoking among young people and the impact of flavored tobacco products.
DeWine said Ohio is seeing an epidemic as more younger people are taking up vaping.
“This has been going on long enough now that we know that many of them transition into tobacco, and we know the long-term consequences,” he said.
DeWine said the bill passed by the state legislature was not in the public’s interest, arguing that medical experts have long warned about the dangers of tobacco products on younger people.
“There’s no doubt that efforts to prevent our young people from suffering from the scourge of becoming addicted to harmful tobacco products is certainly in everyone’s best interests,” Dr. Vanderhoff said.
According to spokesmen in the offices of the governor, state senate and state house, the veto cannot be overridden. That is because state law does not allow a current general assembly to override the veto of a bill passed in a previous general assembly.
This means the ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products in the city of Columbus can move forward. Last month, city council approved the ban. Councilwoman Shayla Favor spearheaded the effort, saying the ban was a necessary step to protect the youth and minority communities from targeting.
Favor commented on the veto, thanking the governor for supporting children's health.
"Flavored Tobacco and tobacco addiction has an undeniable chokehold on Black and Brown communities and we must confront that with investment and meaningful policy change," she said in part.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther also spoke in support of the city ban, saying the city has an “obligation to act” to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, arguing that tobacco companies have targeted children and Black children for decades.
According to Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts, one in three Black Columbus residents is a smoker. Nationally, data from 2019 showed that 85% of Black smokers use menthol cigarettes.
Dr. Roberts added that the flavors in flavored tobacco are used to entice children and minority communities to nicotine.
But those against a city-wide tobacco ban are concerned about the local economy, telling 10TV a ban will hurt small businesses but won’t solve the overall problem.
Store owners argued that they have rules set to prevent minors from purchasing nicotine and flavored tobacco. They also said if the ban is enacted, then it could create a black market for tobacco products.
Zoe Beatty owns two shops that sell tobacco products, one in Columbus and one in Delaware. She said she would actually prefer a statewide ban on flavored tobacco because it would be more fair.
“Right now, they’re just going to push money out of Columbus into Worthington, Hilliard, Galloway,” Beatty said. “It’s just going to take money away from Columbus.”
Beatty said, while her Columbus shop will survive, she worries others won’t. She speculated that ¼ of Columbus businesses that rely on flavored tobacco products will go out of business.
“I think we will be fine,” she said. “Those other stores are going to go out of business because they don’t have the other products to lean back on. We’re not going to get the taxes from it, we’re not going to get all the kickbacks from all of the vape sales.”
City leaders were aware of the concerns of business owners and pledged to find ways to help them through the transition. Favor said, along with smoking cessation programs, helping business owners will be part of an ongoing conversation.
“How do we prepare our business owners for the changes that are coming down the pipeline,” she said. “And then the other conversation is how we can exist our business owners who have relied on harmful products like tobacco to provide other products that would be more beneficial and that are sought after by our residents and our communities, especially where we have food deserts and things like that around the city of Columbus.”
Meanwhile, Bexley will be considering similar legislation. The city council plans to discuss banning the sale of flavored tobacco products at a Jan. 10 meeting. The city already bans the sale of flavored vape products.