Dear Editor,

HB 849 gives communities like Wellsville the tools necessary to protect kids.

For communities like Wellsville, we don’t have the luxury of ignoring things until they become a crisis.

When illegal, unregulated vape products flood into convenience stores, smoke shops, and eventually school parking lots and ballfields, our local leaders, parents, teachers, and law enforcement are the ones left dealing with the consequences.

That is why Ohio lawmakers should pass HB 849.

For too long, the vapor marketplace has operated in a confusing and unstable environment dominated by irresponsible manufacturers and retailers willing to exploit regulatory uncertainty. Illegal products imported from overseas, overwhelmingly from China, are marketed with cartoon imagery, candy-inspired branding, and social media aesthetics.

Communities like ours are left trying to sort out what is legal, what is illicit, and what should never have been sold in the first place.

The reality is simple: if nobody can clearly identify which products are lawful, enforcement becomes nearly impossible.

That hurts everyone. It hurts parents trying to keep addictive products away from children. It hurts schools already overwhelmed with disciplinary and public health challenges. It hurts responsible retailers attempting to follow the rules. And it puts local law enforcement in an unwinnable position, asking officers to police a marketplace without a clear roadmap.

HB 849 offers a practical solution.

At its core, the bill establishes a clear product directory identifying which vapor products should be available for sale in Ohio. That clarity matters more than many realize. When retailers, regulators, and law enforcement all operate from the same set of rules, accountability becomes possible. Bad actors can no longer hide behind ambiguity. Illegal products become easier to identify, easier to remove, and harder to sell to minors.

HB 849 also gives adult smokers greater confidence that the products available on store shelves have undergone scientific review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are deemed appropriate to market as potentially less harmful alternatives for adults seeking to move away from combustible cigarettes.

This is not about creating more bureaucracy. It is about restoring order to a marketplace that has too often resembled the Wild West.

Importantly, the timing could not be better. The Trump administration has taken meaningful steps toward stabilizing a turbulent marketplace by increasing enforcement against illicit products while also creating clearer pathways for responsible manufacturers to operate legally.

Operations targeting illegal Chinese imports and increased scrutiny of unauthorized vape products have sent an important signal: the days of unchecked lawlessness in this industry should be coming to an end.

But federal action alone is not enough.

States must now do their part to reinforce those efforts. HB 849 gives Ohio the ability to align with stronger federal enforcement while empowering local communities with tools they can actually use. Without state-level clarity, illicit operators will continue exploiting loopholes and flooding stores with products designed to evade oversight.

Critics will undoubtedly claim this legislation goes too far. In reality, it does the opposite. HB 849 creates straightforward rules that protect responsible businesses while targeting the products and retailers driving youth access concerns.

Parents in towns like Wellsville are not spending time debating complex federal regulatory frameworks. They simply want confidence that products intentionally marketed toward children are not easily available around their schools and neighborhoods. They want local officials to have the ability to act when laws are broken. Right now, too often, that ability does not exist because the marketplace itself is so unclear.

Enforceable laws create accountability, and accountability protects communities. That is why HB 849 deserves bipartisan support.

Ohio has an opportunity to lead by establishing a commonsense framework that supports law enforcement, protects youth, and restores integrity to a marketplace that has operated without enough of it for far too long. Doing nothing only benefits the irresponsible manufacturers and retailers profiting from confusion and weak enforcement.

Communities like Wellsville should not be left fighting this battle alone.

Passing HB 849 is a smart, measured, and necessary step toward bringing long-overdue stability to a chaotic marketplace.

John Morrow

Wellsville