www.IowaABD.com Lynn M. Walding, Administrator e - NEWS February 24, 2006 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 1. Liquor Trucks to Promote as By Steven Martens – Times February 17, 2006 , — Soon, travelers in will see a rolling billboard promoting as one of the pilot communities in the Iowa Great Places program.
2. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Anti-Smoking Ad Case By Ira Teinowitz, AdAge.com February 21, 2006 QwikFIND ID: AAR43U Tobacco Marketers Argued Campaign Vilified Them (AdAge.com) -– The U.S. Supreme Court without comment today declined to hear arguments that ’s anti-tobacco advertising campaign represented an unconstitutional attempt to make cigarette marketers fund ads that vilified the tobacco industry. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard Tobacco's challenge to 's anti-tobacco advertising. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. argued that the tone of the state's advertising, which was supported by a 25-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes sold by wholesalers, violated their rights. Marketing practices The marketers said the ads for the California Tobacco Control Program that looked to prevent teen smoking focused on the tobacco industry's marketing practices, suggesting they were deceptive, rather than citing the health risks of smoking. “Warning: Some people will say anything to sell cigarettes,” said one of ’s ads. Another featured cigarettes raining down from the sky as an announcer said, “We have to sell cigarettes to your kids. We need half a million new smokers a year just to stay in business.” The marketers argued those ad statements vilified the tobacco industry. The case stems from the California Legislature's passage of the 25-cent tax to help fund the state's anti-smoking advertising program. (That program was in addition to a national program run by the American Legacy Foundation set up following the 1998 settlement of 46 state suits accusing tobacco makers of underplaying smoking risks and marketing tobacco illegally.) Lorillard and RJR argued that the way the tax was structured resulted in the tobacco companies, not the wholesalers, paying the tax and essentially funding advertising they disagreed with. Not compelled speech In September 2004, a panel of 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the tobacco makers’ appeal 2 to 1. The majority decision said the ads represented government speech, not private speech, so the advertising couldn’t be challenged as compelled speech. The minority ruling said 's message and the funding for it was questionable. The companies appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.
Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, has proposed raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 80 cents and reserving the extra $130 million in new tobacco money for health care programs. The House is controlled by Republicans, who hold 51 seats out of 100. The Senate is evenly divided between the political parties and last year approved a tobacco tax increase. House Speaker Christoper Rants, who controls what is debated in that chamber, said he opposes an increase but he isn’t trying to block its debate. “I know the popular perception for those people who want to look for a bogeyman in the issue is to say: “They are stopping this’ and ‘They’re stopping that.’ Legislators are free to do what they want. If they want to support it, they’ll support it. If they don’t want to support it, they won’t.” Rants was speaking to reporters in the Capitol Rotenda a few feet from where Tomenga spoke, when supporters of the tax increase surrounded him and asked if he’d allow the measure to be debated. “Why not let it come up for a vote then?” asked Scott Jamieson, a member of the American Cancer Society from , interrupting Rants as he spoke. Rants: “I hadn’t realized I had blocked it from coming up for a vote.” A member of the crowd said, “Oh, yes, you have.” “OK, well I wasn’t sure what day that occurred,” Rants replied. “Until a bill gets before me I don’t have a decision to make, and I am not going to get into an argument with you folks today.” Last week, a man dressed as a cigarette delivered a Valentine’s Day present to Rants, a black balloon representing all of the people who have died of lung cancer.