Ohio Governor Mike DeWine vetoed legislation Thursday that would have prevented individual Ohio cities from regulating tobacco, reports AP.
“We’re dealing now with young people’s lives, and when a local community wants to make a decision … to protect their children, we should applaud those decisions,” DeWine said.
Lawmakers passed the legislation during the lame duck session of the Ohio General Assembly days after Columbus officials voted to ban the sale of flavored and menthol tobacco products in the state’s largest city starting in 2024.
During the debate session last month, lawmakers argued that allowing cities to make tobacco rules could cause cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus to ban anything considered unhealthy. Matt Huffman, Republican Senate president, argued that tobacco sales are a statewide issue because the restriction would affect income of the state.
Opponents argued that the state proposal would have acted as a broader “preemption” law, stopping cities from passing local ordinances beyond state law on new fees or taxes on tobacco products or raising the age to buy them, according to Cleveland.com.
Advocates from anti-tobacco organizations and the American Cancer society said that preventing cities from making their own rules would have given the tobacco industry more power and would have been especially detrimental to children susceptible to advertising efforts. Democrats also called the measure “a stripping of home rule,” saying that not allowing local communities to govern themselves violates Ohio’s Constitution.
As of September last year, 24 states have laws preempting local ordinances restricting sales of tobacco to young people, according to the CDC. Both state and federal law prohibit vendors from selling tobacco products to anyone younger than 21.