It doesn’t look good. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appears primed to veto a bill just passed by the state legislature that would prohibit cities like Columbus from regulating vaping and other tobacco products.
DeWine told ABC 6 On Your Side he supports the Columbus ordinance passed Monday banning the sale of flavored vaping and other tobacco products.
“Making a decision not to have flavored cigarettes is a logical decision that will save many, many lives and will save taxpayers a lot of money,” the governor said. “Smoking costs the citizens of Ohio hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars every single year.”
The day after the Columbus tobacco ban passed, Republicans who control the legislature added a proposal to an unrelated bill mandating that only the state can regulate tobacco products in Ohio. The bill would wipe out attempts by local governments such as Columbus to rein in the use of tobacco products.