Cite as: 533 U. S. 525 (2001)
Opinion of Thomas, J.
exposure to tobacco advertising.3 Far from serving a compelling interest, the ban on displays below five feet seems to lack even a minimally rational relationship to any conceivable interest.
There is also considerable reason to doubt that the restrictions on cigar and smokeless tobacco outdoor advertising promote any state interest. Outdoor advertising for cigars, after all, is virtually nonexistent. Cigar makers use no billboards in Massachusetts, and in fact their nationwide outdoor advertising budget is only about $50,000 per year. See 218 F. 3d, at 49. To the extent outdoor advertising exists, there is no evidence that it is targeted at youth or has a significant effect on youth. The Court of Appeals focused on the State's evidence of a relationship between "tobacco advertising and tobacco use," id., at 48, thus eliding the dearth of evidence showing any relationship between cigar advertising and cigar use by minors. Respondents principally rely on a National Cancer Institute report on cigar smoking, see Brief for Respondents 39, n. 19. But that report contains only the conclusory assertion that cigars are being "heavily promoted in ways likely to influence adolescent use," and it does not even discuss outdoor advertising, instead focusing on "[e]ndorsements by celebrities," "the re-3 This is not to say that the regulation does nothing at all. As the Court points out, see ante, at 565, security concerns require that convenience stores be designed so that the interior of the store is visible from the street. See also Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late-Night Retail Establishments 6 (1998) ("Shelves should be low enough to assure good visibility throughout the store"). The § 21.04(5)(b) ban on displays below five feet and the § 21.04(5)(a) ban on displays visible from outside the store, combined with these security concerns, would prevent many convenience stores from displaying any tobacco products at all. Thus, despite the State's disclaimers, see Brief for Respondents 30 ("The State, quite clearly, is not trying to suppress altogether the communication of product information to interested consumers"), the restrictions effectively produce a total ban.
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