Clinton promises bill allowing states to curb tobacco ads

By The Associated Press

08.28.01

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NEW YORK — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday that she will introduce legislation to give state and local governments the right to restrict cigarette advertising beyond the federal government's limitations.

The proposal would circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court's June 28 ruling that state efforts to ban tobacco ads near playgrounds and schools violate federal law and free-speech rights.

"When I return to Washington, I will be introducing a bill to remove this senseless obstacle to state and local innovation," Clinton said. "This bill would preserve the authority that state and local governments have exercised wisely to protect their residents in the absence of federal authority."

Clinton was joined by Westchester County Executive Andy Spano, whose own efforts to limit the marketing of cigarettes to minors have been hampered by the Supreme Court decision.

Spano said a Westchester law that would have banned tobacco ads within 10 feet of candy or toy sales was "undermined by recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court which prevent us from fully enforcing our law and thereby protecting the health of our children."

Other communities in New York that have enacted similar restrictions include New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Huntington, Renssalaer County and New Rochelle.

The high court's 5-4 ruling in Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly struck down a Massachusetts law governing outdoor and point-of-sale cigarette advertising. The court said states may not add their own advertising restrictions to the federal law that bans cigarette ads on TV and requires warning labels on packages.

Clinton's proposals would affirm the right of state and local governments to regulate cigarette advertising. She is also a co-sponsor of legislation that would give the federal Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco.

Donald Distasio, head of the American Cancer Society's Eastern division, said the proposals "will further the American Cancer Society's work protecting America's youth from the health hazards of tobacco products."

Brendan McCormick, a spokesman for tobacco giant Philip Morris, said the company believes that regulations governing tobacco advertising are best handled at the federal level.

"We think it's best addressed in a uniform way," McCormick said. "And we think that any regulation should also protect the First Amendment and acknowledge the First Amendment protections that were recently supported by the decision in the Reilly case."

A spokesman for Lorillard did not immediately return a call for comment.

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