Ohio Flavored Tobacco Preemption Under HB 513

Governor DeWine vetoed the preemption twice, first in HB 513 in January 2023 and again in the HB 33 budget in July 2023, before the General Assembly completed a veto override in January 2024, codifying ORC 9.681. The law bars municipalities from regulating the sale, distribution, packaging, marketing, taxation, or use of tobacco, alternative nicotine, and vapor products. Columbus and more than twenty other cities sued; a Franklin County judge ruled the statute unconstitutional in 2024, the Tenth District Court of Appeals affirmed in July 2025, and the Ohio Supreme Court heard argument in June 2026 with a decision pending.

Local ordinances that conflict with ORC 9.681 are unenforceable and may be struck down through declaratory action.