Supreme Court Ruling
On June 28, 2001, the Supreme Court ruled that states could not ban tobacco advertising on billboards near playgrounds and schools because such a ban would violate federal law and free speech rights. The court found that in the course of limiting children’s exposure to tobacco ads, the state would prevent adults from seeing information about a product that they have a legal right to buy.
The Supreme Court’s ruling will likely not affect outdoor advertising revenue, since the outdoor advertising industry has already taken steps to replace the revenue lost from the tobacco industry since 1998.