On November 16, 2000, WLF filed a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to Massachusetts regulations that ban outdoor advertising of tobacco products while imposing virtually no restrictions on other products’ advertising. WLF argued that the regulations could not be upheld, in the face of a First Amendment challenge, as a measure reasonably designed to reduce underage smoking. WLF argued that states could achieve that same objective by stepping up enforcement against merchants who violate the ban on sales to. On June 28, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Massachusetts regulations that ban outdoor advertising of tobacco products while imposing virtually no restrictions on other products’ advertising. As a result of the decision, numerous local laws that restrict advertising of cigarettes and other disfavored products are likely to be struck down.
