April 7th, 2011
Texarkana considering local ban on tobacco advertising
ArkansasOnline.com
Texarkana’s board of directors is set to consider a local ban on tobacco advertisements, but the city attorney says the board should wait to act on the proposal because of freedom-of-speech issues.
The board will meet Monday. The Texarkana Gazette reports an outreach organization in Magnolia, Ark., wants Texarkana to support the proposed ban.
City Attorney Ned Stewart says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is about to consider the same issue. He says that whether one likes smoking or not, smoking remains legal.
Stewart says the board should wait under the federal agency acts on the issue. He says he’s reluctant to restrict advertising, which he believes is “a type of free speech” and that the city couldn’t ban tobacco ads in stores that sell tobacco products.
Read more: http://www.tobaccouse.info/texarkana-considering-local-ban-on-tobacco-ads/