Ohio Supreme Court nixes state appeal over smoking ad

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected the state’s argument that a cigarette company’s spread in Rolling Stone magazine violated a tobacco industry settlement.

The court ruled 4-2 today without comment to decline Attorney General Richard Cordray’s appeal of a lower court ruling that sided with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

At issue was a multipage Camel ad in Rolling Stone that ran alongside a 2007 feature story illustrated with drawings.

Ohio said the ad placement amounted to using cartoons to sell cigarettes, violating a promise in the industry’s 1998 settlement with multiple states.

Ruling for Reynolds earlier this year, an appeals court in Columbus said the company had no say in the drawings and other content Rolling Stone ran next to the ad.