Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 2, 1995 TAG: 9511020083
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
As the court considered a challenge to Rhode Island's ban on liquor-price advertising, several justices voiced concern over what upholding the ban might mean for government's regulatory power over other potentially harmful products.
``Is your product special?'' Justice Stephen Breyer asked Rhode Island's lawyer, Rebecca Partington. ``Is there a stopping point?''
Courtroom hypotheticals included mentions of red meat, high-cholesterol foods, guns, bullets and foods that cause cancer when ingested in great amounts by lab animals. Cigarettes were not mentioned.
Yet the court's decision, expected by July, could clarify the federal government's authority over cigarette advertising. That authority already is being questioned mightily by the tobacco industry.
Rhode Island law allows advertising for alcoholic beverages but requires publishers to exclude any mention of prices, or even the word ``sale.''
Partington argued that state control over alcohol is ``unique'' because of the Constitution's 21st Amendment, which ended Prohibition but gave states the power to control liquor sales within their borders.
by CNB