ANTI-VAPING BILL VETOED BY GOVERNOR DESANTIS

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have banned the sale of nearly all flavored electronic-cigarette products and raised the state’s smoking age from 18 to 21. DeSantis called raising the age to 21 to purchase tobacco products in Florida “superfluous,” since it is already mandated by federal law and said tobacco-free vaping flavors are a reduced-risk alternative to cigarettes, which are more dangerous. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who made the legislation one of her chief legislative priorities this year, called the governor’s action disappointing, but vape shop owners praised the veto, calling it a critical step in reducing the use of tobacco cigarettes.