Jump to full article: Associated Press (AP), 2001-04-21
Author: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Intro: A dispute pitting Massachusetts against the tobacco industry could give the U.S. Supreme Court the chance to decide if commercial advertising deserves First Amendment protections similar to political and artistic speech.
At issue are regulations that would severely curtail tobacco advertising inside and outside stores near schools. Attorney General Thomas Reilly said the regulations are needed to keep tobacco companies from pitching cigarettes to children.
The industry argues it has already agreed to tough advertising regulations, including banning outdoor billboards, as part of a national settlement with the states. Companies say the regulations are overkill and that advertising should be protected by the First Amendment. . .
Massachusetts' regulations are effectively a ban, said Mark Berlind, a lawyer for Philip Morris Inc., one of five tobacco manufacturers that challenged the regulations, which have yet to take effect. The industry filed the lawsuit in 1999.
"What's at stake here is whether manufacturers of adult products are allowed to advertise to adult consumers in any meaningful way," he said.
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