COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio appeals court has reversed a decision that a cigarette company’s advertisement in Rolling Stone magazine violated a tobacco industry settlement.
Ohio and several other states brought lawsuits over an R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ad in Rolling Stone that ran alongside a November 2007 feature story illustrated with drawings.
Ohio officials and the lower court said the ad’s placement amounted to using cartoons to sell cigarettes, violating a promise in the industry’s 1998 settlement with multiple states.
The appeals court in Columbus ruled Thursday that Reynolds had no say in the content that Rolling Stone chose to run next to the ad.
The ruling overturns a 2008 decision in the state’s favor. A message seeking comment was left for a spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray.