TAMPA (WFLA) – Governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have raised the age limit on tobacco products from 18 to 21 in hopes of preventing teen vaping.

Gov. DeSantis says the bill would “almost assuredly lead more people to resume smoking cigarettes and it would drive others to the hazardous black market.”

At least 18 other states now have laws setting the minimum age for vaping at 21, and efforts are underway in the remaining states to raise the age limit.

In December 2019, the federal government raised the age to buy both tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes to 21 nationwide. But states are passing their own laws because enforcement is usually done on the local and state level.