{
  "id": "98-466",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "98-466",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105144,
      "date": "1998-05-15",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:54:13.979941",
      "title": "Tobacco Marketing and Advertising Restrictions in S. 1415, 105th Congress: First Amendment Issues",
      "summary": "This report considers whether the restrictions on tobacco marketing and advertising in Section\nSection 122-123 of  S. 1415 , 105th Congress, as reported by the Senate Committee on\nCommerce, would, in general, violate the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. These\nsections would   prohibit, among others, the following forms of tobacco advertising and\nlabeling: (1)\nadvertising or labeling with a human or animal image or cartoon character, (2) outdoor advertising,\nincluding advertising in enclosed stadia, (3) advertising without a disclaimer that words such as \"light\"\nor \"low tar\" describing the product do not render the product less hazardous than any other tobacco\nproduct, (4) advertising or labeling not reviewed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services\nbefore it is first used, (5) advertising on the Internet \"unless such advertising is designed to be\ninaccessible in or from the United States to all individuals under the age of 18 years,\" and (6)\nadvertising with other than black text on white background except at locations where individuals\nunder 18 are not permitted and in publications whose readers under the age of 18 constitute 15\npercent or less of the total readership.\n  The First Amendment provides only limited protection to commercial speech, such as tobacco\nadvertising. The Supreme Court has prescribed the  Central Hudson  test to determine\nthe\nconstitutionality of governmental restrictions of commercial speech. This test requires that\nrestrictions of non-misleading commercial speech directly advance a substantial governmental interest\nin a manner that is not overbroad. In 1996, in  44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island , the\nSupreme\nCourt increased the protection that the  Central Hudson  test guarantees to commercial\nspeech,\nexpressing skepticism of \"regulations that seek to keep people in the dark for what the government\nperceives to be their own good.\" One may apparently infer from this decision that restrictions on\ntruthful tobacco advertising that is not aimed at minors may be unconstitutional. \n  Subsequent to  44 Liquormart , a federal court of appeals upheld a Baltimore\n ordinance that\nprohibited tobacco advertisements on billboards, except in certain commercially and industrially zoned\nareas of the city. It reasoned that, although the ordinance reduced the opportunities for adults to\nreceive tobacco advertising, it did not preclude them, and the ordinance constituted a reasonable way\nto attempt to limit underage smoking.  S. 1415 's total ban on billboards with tobacco\nadvertisements, by contrast, would seem more likely to raise constitutional questions. Similar\nquestions may be raised with respect to other marketing and advertising restrictions, to the extent that\nthey deny adults access to tobacco advertising more than is necessary to protect children. However,\nthe fact that  S. 1415 's restrictions would not be as encompassing as the restrictions on\nprice advertising that the Supreme Court struck down in  44 Liquormart , and would allow\nsome\ntobacco advertising to continue, might increase the likelihood of the restrictions' being upheld.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Constitutional Questions"
  ]
}