SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- An attorney for Philip Morris said in a federal appeals court the ban on tobacco sales in San Francisco drugstores is unconstitutional.
Attorney Daniel Collins told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals the ban interferes with the tobacco company's constitutional right to communicate with customers since drugstore owners will not display tobacco advertisements, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.
"Retailers will not agree to accept (display ads) for products they can't sell," Collins said Wednesday in the San Francisco court.
The tobacco ban, which went into effect last October, has forced Philip Morris to pay additional advertising costs to exercise its First Amendment rights.
Philip Morris's attempt to halt the ban last December ended when a U.S. district judge ruled city officials were not attempting to regulate free speech. The Chronicle said U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland, Calif., also found city officials can legally prohibit conduct such as tobacco sales inside city limits.
