(AP) -- A city law intended to protect children from the lure of cigarette smoking by severely limiting where tobacco products could be advertised was struck down by a federal judge Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts ruled that the law enacted last January is preempted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, which blocks states and municipalities from enacting their own laws to restrict cigarette advertisements.The city law had not been enforced pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought by a trade association of businesses in the food industry, a group of national associations of advertisers and a New York association of advertising executives. Batts' ruling was a response to that lawsuit.
The law forbid outdoor ads within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, arcades and youth centers. As a result, thousands of tobacco ads on billboards, water towers, buildings and store windows would have had to be painted over, scrubbed off or pulled down.
It also outlawed the display of tobacco ads within 5 feet of store windows, unless they are facing inward, and it banned promotional giveaways like hats and T-shirts to children.
City Councilman Sheldon Leffler, a Queens Democrat and one of several members to vote against the legislation, said the judge's ruling echoed his own reservations.
"This was a dubious attempt to champion a political position where the city didn't have clear authority and where we were treading on very dubious constitutional grounds," Leffler said. "We just went too far."
Council Speaker Peter Vallone said the city would appeal.
At least 21 municipalities have enacted some type of restrictions on tobacco ads, including Chicago, Fort Worth, Las Vegas and Tucson.
The Supreme Court earlier this year refused to hear a challenge to Baltimore's ban on tobacco ads on billboards.