Tag: Ohio

  • Rocky River Set to Ban Vaping in Public Parks

    Rocky River Set to Ban Vaping in Public Parks

    Credit: Mahir

    The Rocky River City Council in Ohio could vote today to ban smoking and vaping on city property, including public parks.

    The legislation is set for its third and final reading at Monday’s regular council meeting at City Hall.

    According to media reports, the new law would apply to all publicly owned property in the city, which would include the city’s 10 parks.

    Rocky River’s city policies already bar smoking on all city-owned properties. If public staffers catch someone smoking, they can escort them off the property.

    The proposed ordinance would make it a minor misdemeanor, and violators could be ticketed and/or fined.

  • Judge Allows Ohio Cities to Enact Local Flavor Laws

    Judge Allows Ohio Cities to Enact Local Flavor Laws

    Credit: Promesa Art Studio

    A judge in Ohio has ruled that the state law that prohibits cities from banning flavored tobacco is unconstitutional.

    Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott’s Friday ruling allows bans in Columbus and other cities to stay in effect.

    Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said in a statement that he applauded the decision, according to media reports.

    He said, “While we know this may not be the end of the fight, this decision is a significant win for both the city of Columbus and for the health and safety of children and families.”

    Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and 11 other cities sued the state back in April.

    The state can appeal the ruling.

  • County Judge Halts Ohio Ban on Local Tobacco Laws

    County Judge Halts Ohio Ban on Local Tobacco Laws

    Credit: Promesa Art Studio

    A county judge in Ohio issued a temporary restraining order late Friday afternoon, stopping a state law from taking effect next week that would prevent Columbus, several Franklin County suburbs, Cincinnati, and other Ohio cities from regulating tobacco products, including enacting flavor bans.

    The ruling means the local cities’ bans on selling flavored vaping and other tobacco products will remain in effect for now, according to media reports. However, the move indicates that Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott believes the cities’ case will likely succeed.

    Serrott scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing in the case for May 17.

    Columbus, Cincinnati, and several other Ohio cities filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the law created by the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly. The cities argue the legislature violated an Ohio constitutional amendment giving cities “home rule” to set their own laws for the good of their residents on certain matters, including on issues of public safety.

    The cities argue the new Ohio law allowing flavored tobacco sales negatively affects the health of Ohioans, particularly of teens increasingly turning to vaping.

    Serrott also noted that while one state law prohibits municipalities from regulating tobacco, another requires a plan to reduce tobacco use by Ohioans. That code emphasizes reducing the use of tobacco by “youth, minority and regional populations, pregnant women, Medicaid recipients, and others who may be disproportionately affected by the use of tobacco.”

    In granting the restraining order, Serrott concluded the cities’ challenge to the constitutionality of the state law is likely to succeed ultimately — although he also acknowledged the state is expected to appeal his final ruling.

  • Ohio Preemption Law Forces 14 Cities to File Lawsuit

    Ohio Preemption Law Forces 14 Cities to File Lawsuit

    Credit: Zach Frank

    The Ohio General Assembly passed a preemption law earlier this year that prevents cities and counties from enacting tobacco regulations that are stricter than the state laws.

    The law was enacted after lawmakers overrode Governor Mike DeWine’s veto, which came after a year-long battle over the banning of flavored tobacco sales.

    This week, 14 cities filed a legal challenge to the law that, if successful, would allow those cities to introduce their own rules even if they are more stringent than state rules.

    The cities of Columbus, Bexley, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dublin, Gahanna, Grandview Heights, Heath, Hilliard, Oxford, Reynoldsburg, Upper Arlington, Whitehall, and Worthington filed the case in Franklin County. The plaintiffs claim the law violates the state’s constitution, specifically a line that states that cities “have the ‘authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within [their] limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws.’”

    According to Patrick Lagreid of Halfwheel, the suit also argues that the ban would adversely affect citizens. The Ohio legislature passed the preemption law during a special session, which DeWine later vetoed.

    The ban was again passed by the state’s General Assembly as part of its budget proposal, then vetoed again by DeWine before the General Assembly voted to override the veto in January. The case seeks a temporary injunction to keep the ban from going into effect on April 24.

    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.

  • Ohio Veto Override Bans Local Tobacco Rules

    Ohio Veto Override Bans Local Tobacco Rules

    Credit: Lucitanija

    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.

  • Ohio House Overrides Veto of Local Flavor Ban Bill

    Ohio House Overrides Veto of Local Flavor Ban Bill

    Credit: Andy Dean

    Localities in Ohio will not be allowed to enact flavor bans for nicotine products.

    The Ohio House voted to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of legislation prohibiting cities from imposing flavored tobacco bans.

    The move marked the latest effort by lawmakers to block local regulation of flavored tobacco products, including menthol.

    Columbus is preparing to ban the sale of flavored tobacco starting next month, and Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland are considering similar proposals, according to Cincinnati.com.

    The vote also highlighted divisions between DeWine and legislative leaders on the issue that have persisted for months. Veto overrides are rare because they require more votes in the House and Senate.

    Anti-tobacco groups say these bans are necessary to reduce teen vaping. Officials in the House and Senate contend the state should have uniform guidelines and say the legislation will protect small businesses.

  • Ohio Votes to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Sales

    Ohio Votes to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Sales

    Credit: Adobe Photos

    Ohio is the 24th U.S. state to allow adult marijuana use for non-medical purposes. Voters in the state approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, defying Republican legislative leaders who had failed to pass the proposed law.

    “Marijuana is no longer a controversial issue,” said Tom Haren, spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “Ohioans demonstrated this by passing State Issue 2 in a landslide. Ohioans are being extremely clear on the future they want for our state: adult-use marijuana legal and regulated.”

    The new law will allow adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. A 10 percent tax will be imposed on purchases, to be spent on administrative costs, addiction treatment, municipalities with dispensaries and social equity and jobs programs supporting the industry itself.

    The election’s outcome represents a blow to GOP lawmakers, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and business and manufacturing organizations concerned about its impact on workplace and traffic safety, according to the AP.

    But as a citizen-initiated statute, the law is subject to change. Republicans who remain opposed to it in the Legislature are free to make tweaks to the law — or even repeal it, though the political stakes are higher now that the voters have approved it.

    LeafLink, a large wholesale cannabis marketplace, commended Ohio residents on approving Issue 2 and urged lawmakers to promptly enact the law as passed.

    “This vote presents a tremendous opportunity for the state where legal adult-use sales are projected to exceed $1 billion annually,” Policy Director Rodney Holcombe said in a statement. “This move puts Ohio in league with 23 other states that have taken this significant stride forward. We have witnessed firsthand the positive impact of legalized cannabis, including job creation, tax revenue for vital government services and unique business opportunities for entrepreneurs.”

  • Cleveland, Ohio Considering Vapor Flavor Ban Bill

    Cleveland, Ohio Considering Vapor Flavor Ban Bill

    Credit: pabrady63

    Cleveland, Ohio is considering a proposal that would ban the sales of flavored cigars and most other tobacco products within Ohio’s second-most populous city.

    At a City Council Meeting this week, Council President Blaine A. Griffin, Ward 6, and Council Member Kevin Conwell, Ward 9, introduced a proposed ordinance that would ban the sale of almost all flavored tobacco products within Cleveland city limits.

    Ordinance No. 184-2023 has one exception, it would allow hookah bars to sell flavored shisha tobacco for on-site consumption. There are no exemptions for flavored cigars of any kind, reports Charlie Minato of Halfwheel.

    The law defines a flavored tobacco product as one “that imparts a taste or smell, other than the taste or smell of tobacco, that is distinguishable by an ordinary consumer either prior to, or during the consumption of, a Tobacco Product, including, but not limited to, any taste or smell relating to fruit, menthol, mint, wintergreen, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, honey, or any candy, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb, or spice.”

    It would also ban retailers and manufacturers from advertising products as having a taste or smell other than tobacco, presumably targeting things like the cooling sensation of menthol cigarettes.

    While the bill passed the Republican-controlled legislature during a lame-duck session, it was vetoed by Gov. Mike DeWine, also a Republican, who called for a statewide ban on flavored vaping products. DeWine’s veto allows for laws like the one proposed in Cleveland to be enacted.

  • Ohio Governor Aims to Ban Vape Flavors Statewide

    Ohio Governor Aims to Ban Vape Flavors Statewide

    Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

    The governor of the U.S. state of Ohio has called for a statewide ban on the sale of flavored nicotine products. The announcement came when Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a bill that would have barred local governments from making any tobacco rules more harsh than state regulations.

    “I’m just looking at this from a logical point of view,” DeWine said. “I listen to my friends who have businesses. I understand their desire to get uniformity…I just think the easiest way to do this is to have a statewide ban.”

    The provision he vetoed was a legislative response to a ban recently approved by the city of Columbus. The governor announced his decision during a press conference held with his state health director, Bruce Vanderhoff, to specifically talk about the dangers of youth use of flavored tobacco products, according to The Blade.

    “We have an epidemic,” DeWine said. “We are seeing more and more of young people starting to vape at a younger and younger age. This has been going on long enough now that we know that many of them then transition over to tobacco, and we know the long-term consequences of that.”

  • Ohio Cities can Create Vape, Tobacco Laws After Veto

    Ohio Cities can Create Vape, Tobacco Laws After Veto

    Credit: Daniel Jedzura

    The governor of the U.S. state of Ohio, Mike DeWine, vetoed legislation Thursday that would have stopped Ohio cities from strengthening their anti-vaping and anti-tobacco laws.

    “This measure is not in the public interest, therefore, just a few minutes ago, I vetoed this bill, “ DeWine announced Thursday morning at a news conference.

    Lawmakers had passed the legislation during the lame duck session of the Ohio General Assembly mere 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 nearly 17-hour marathon debate session last month, lawmakers argued allowing cities to make tobacco rules could cause cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus to ban anything considered unhealthy.

    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.

    Speaking to reporters, DeWine said Ohio is in the midst of an epidemic where a growing number young people are starting to “vape” or smoke e-cigarettes at younger ages.

    Defenders of preemption laws often cite a need for uniformity in laws across the state and an aversion to a patchwork of different rules in different Ohio cities. DeWine said young people’s lives are more important than uniformity.

    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.