Ohio Veto Override Bans Local Tobacco Rules

Local governments in Ohio cannot enact tobacco and nicotine rules. Those regulations must come from the state level.

The Ohio Senate on Wednesday voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto on a provision prohibiting local governments from enacting regulations on the sale of tobacco — including by banning flavored vaping products.

The policy, which will go into effect in three months, means that newly enacted flavored tobacco bans in Columbus, Worthington and other central Ohio cities cannot be enforced.

Republican state lawmakers have tried multiple times to prohibit local governments from restricting the sale of tobacco, only to be thwarted by DeWine’s vetoes.

In 2022, he struck down such a proposal. Last July, he struck the provision from the rest of the state budget, saying that local bans were “essential” to curb nicotine use, especially among children, without a statewide ban in place.