The City’s Cigarette Ban Hits a Snag
A federal judge rules the local anti-cigarette law unconstitutional, leaving shopkeepers in a cloud of confusion.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Judge Hanford’s decision declaring the anti-cigarette law unconstitutional was the occasion of a good deal of talk yesterday, especially at the retail tobacco stands, where nearly every one who came along inquired for cigarettes just for fun. None of the stands, however, which had gone out of the business on account of the law had resumed the sale of cigarettes, and the proprietors were not sure they would, as the case is still subject to review by the United States supreme court. They could not have bought stock in the city, anyhow, as none of the jobbers have any on hand. Inquiry at several wholesale houses disclosed a feeling of uncertainty as to the future of cigarettes, but one dealer stated that in all probability the jobbers would not resume the sale of cigarettes pending a final decision upon the constitutionality of the law.
“Judge Hanford’s decision... was the occasion of a good deal of talk yesterday, especially at the retail tobacco stands, where nearly every one who came along inquired for cigarettes just for fun.”
This reflects the early 1890s moral panic over tobacco, where Seattle attempted to regulate public health through prohibition. It echoes contemporary local struggles over the regulation of substances and the tension between city-level ordinances and state or federal judicial oversight.
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