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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Local governments in Ohio can now not regulate tobacco in their communities after the Republican Legislature overrode on Wednesday GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a price range measure that puts regulation as an alternative in the hands of the state.
The measure, vetoed in 2022 earlier than reappearing in the state price range, says regulating tobacco and different nicotine merchandise needs to be as much as the state, not municipalities. It additionally prevents communities from voting to limit issues like flavored e-cigarettes and gross sales of flavored vaping merchandise.
The new legislation will take impact in roughly 90 days, although it isn’t but clear how that might have an effect on native governments which have any stricter tobacco guidelines in place.
Local governments will now not be capable to prohibit tobacco merchandise in OH.
Lawmakers handed the 2022 laws days after Ohio‘s capital metropolis, Columbus, cleared its bans on the sale of flavored tobacco and menthol tobacco merchandise, which might have been enacted in early 2024. Toledo and Beckley have comparable bans.
Anti-tobacco advocates, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and DeWine himself harshly criticized the override as a win for the tobacco business, saying it allows habit in youngsters as tobacco and vaping merchandise made with fruit or sweet flavors turns into extra fashionable and accessible to youngsters.
Opponents of the measure additionally say it violates Ohio‘s dwelling rule provision, which permits native governments to create their very own ordinances so long as they don’t intrude with the state’s revised code.
Those towards the measure have additionally expressed worry that it’s going to wipe out different native tobacco restrictions solely. Leo Almeida, authorities relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, instructed The Associated Press that, as written, the legislation is just too broad.
“Taking local control away from the people who are trying to improve public health is a big mistake,” Almeida stated.
Senate President Matt Huffman stated Wednesday that legislators have fastidiously reviewed the language with the Legislative Service Commission, a nonpartisan company that drafts payments for the General Assembly, and do not imagine it impacts all doable tobacco restrictions native governments may move.
Proponents of the measure tout it as a solution to preserve uniformity for tobacco legal guidelines and get rid of confusion for Ohioans. They argue the state ought to have control somewhat than communities as a result of restrictions on the merchandise would have an effect on state revenue as an entire.
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DeWine has maintained that the greatest manner to make sure uniformity in these legal guidelines can be a statewide ban on flavored tobacco.
At least two states, California and Massachusetts, have handed statewide bans on promoting all flavored tobacco merchandise.
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