Judge rules Ohio law that keeps cities from banning flavored tobacco is unconstitutional

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI
Associated Press

A judge has found that an Ohio law prohibiting cities from banning the sale of flavored tobacco products is unconstitutional. The state is expected to appeal the ruling issued Friday by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark Serrott. The measure had become law in January, after the Republican Legislature overrode GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a budget measure that put regulatory powers in the hands of the state. The ruling stemmed from a suit brought by more than a dozen cities, including Columbus and Cincinnati, and it means their bans will stay in effect. The ruling, though, applies only to those cities and is not a statewide injunction.