The Tobacco Industry was dealt another blow in Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Shewry, when the Ninth Circuit denied the cigarette makers' claim that a California surtax on cigarettes that funds anti-smoking advertisements violates the Constitution.

First Amendment scholars may find this "novel claim" interesting. The Court ultimately rejected Reynolds's "nexus" argument, holding "a mere link between an excise tax and a government-sponsored advertising campaign, absent a claim that either the tax or the advertising is unconstitutional, does not violate the First Amendment."