Anti-smoking campaigns, local regulations threatened by language buried in Tobacco 21 bills

Publication Date: 2019-04-26

• Author:Jeffrey Schweers
• Publication:Tallahassee Democrat

Legislation to raise the smoking age to 21 has hit a major snag that could spell its doom this session.

Public health and anti-tobacco advocates say the House version goes to the heart of the state’s multi-million dollar anti-tobacco campaign by killing local government regulation of sales and marketing for tobacco and e-cigarette products. And they see it as part of a coordinated effort on a national level by Big Tobacco to weaken those regulations in other states...

If passed it will send the dozens of counties and cities that have enacted local ordinances restricting tobacco and vaping products scrambling to figure out whether their ordinances would be banned...