Regulations in Alcohol Advertising: Scrutiny Applied to Commercial Speech

There is a circuit split between the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth and Ninth circuits concerning the level of scrutiny to apply to the regulation of alcohol advertising. The regulatory framework for the alcohol industry has a long and evolving history. Since our country’s founding, alcohol has had a strong presence in American life, and it continues to enjoy a flourishing market. Knowing the alcohol industry’s history is important to understanding the current circuit split. The Twenty-First Amendment repealed Prohibition and gave states the power to regulate alcohol according to their own standards. The protections granted by the First Amendment have also evolved over time, especially concerning commercial speech within the alcohol industry.