Submitted by John Stauber on
"Two of the nation's largest cigarette manufacturers have sued the state of California to stop state-sponsored ads that exceed the authority granted to the state by voters and are intended to vilify the tobacco industry. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Lorillard Tobacco Company filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, seeking an injunction halting some of California's Prop 99 advertising. ... As noted in the proposition itself, Prop 99 tax proceeds are to be used primarily for tobacco-related health education programs and medical care for indigent citizens. The plaintiffs claim that, instead, California inappropriately began a series of radio, TV, billboard and print ads, which California officials openly acknowledge are intended to vilify the tobacco industry."
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