United States

A cigarette manufacturer brought an action against local governments claiming that city and county ordinances prohibiting the distribution of free tobacco products and samples were preempted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA).  The Court noted that the FCLAA regulated several aspects of cigarette advertising and labeling and explicitly barred state governments from regulating the promotion of cigarettes labeled in conformity with the act.  The Court denied the State of Washington's motion to intervene to enforce a provision of an agreement between the state and the manufacturer that prohibited facial challenges to existing local legislation, noting that the challenge was not facial but concerned the application of the ordinances to the distribution of cigarettes.  Additionally, the Court held that the distribution of free products constituted promotional activities and that the FCLAA therefore preempted the local ordinances' restrictions on the distribution of cigarette products and samples.