Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly
United States Supreme Court
533 U.S. 525 (2001)
Massachusetts barred tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet of a school or playground and required point-of-sale ads to be placed at least five feet off the ground; Lorillard (plaintiff) sued Massachusetts's Attorney General (defendant), arguing the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA) preempted the cigarette-specific rules and that the First Amendment barred the smokeless-tobacco and cigar restrictions. The lower courts split on which restrictions were preempted and which survived First Amendment scrutiny, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether state cigarette-advertising regulations are preempted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, regardless of whether the state regulations are related to content or location, and whether, under the First Amendment, a state may constitutionally prohibit commercial speech if the state's regulation does not satisfy the four-part analysis outlined in Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Comm'n of New York.