'I am begging' Gov. DeWine: Don't leave cities like Columbus, Cleveland 'to burn'| Opinion

Dr. David Margolius is the director of public health for the city of Cleveland. 

Cleveland has one of the highest smoking rates in the country at 35% of adults.

Smoking takes decades of life from our residents. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death, disease, and disability in the United States and Cleveland.

The current version of the Ohio Senate budget proposal would take away our city’s ability to act against tobacco. As the Director of Public Health for the city of Cleveland, I am begging the Ohio legislature and Gov. Mike DeWine to allow cities like Cleveland to maintain local control over our tobacco policies.

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Last week, the Ohio Senate inserted a provision into their budget proposal that would:

• End the sale of e-cigarette products with a “characterizing flavor” other than the taste or smell of tobacco or menthol.

• Prohibit any local jurisdiction from implementing a policy to regulate the sale of tobacco or e-cigarette products.

By prohibiting the sale of only “characterizing flavors," the following “non-characterizing” flavors could still be sold in Ohio: “winter," “tropic," “marigold," “summer," and “zest."

In other words, this flavor ban is not a flavor ban at all. By prohibiting any local jurisdiction from enacting their own tobacco control policies, cities like Cleveland are being left to burn by our legislative leaders.

In January, 2023, Governor DeWine vetoed a similar measure that would have blocked cities from ending the sale of all flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products. In doing so, he said “When a community wants to make the decision to ban these flavors to protect their children, we should applaud those decisions.”

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This time around, DeWine’s spokesperson Dan Tierney replied in response to criticism from health advocates: “Those opposed to this compromise victory against youth nicotine consumption have, quite frankly, lost the forest for the trees.”

Columbus, Toledo, and Bexley have all passed tobacco control laws that do more to reduce smoking and e-cigarette rates than the current Ohio Senate budget proposal.

Columbus, Cincinnati, Brook Park, Brooklyn, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Lakewood, Maple Heights, Moreland Hills, Newburgh Heights, and University Heights all have local tobacco retail license policies that would be negated.

In Cleveland, we have introduced a policy that is under legislative review to end the sale of all flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products and to set up a tobacco retail license.

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Given how far back this budget proposal would set our state back on tobacco control for the sake of a state-wide flavor ban that does not ban flavors, who has lost the forest for the trees?

Governor DeWine and Ohio legislative leaders, please continue to allow local jurisdictions home rule to regulate the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products.

Our residents’ lives depend on it.

Dr. David Margolius is the director of public health for the city of Cleveland. 

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Don't let Ohio cities be burned by bogus flavor tobacco ban| Health director