A federal district court judge in Massachusetts has ruled a Worcester city ordinance banning outdoor tobacco advertisement violates the constitutional right to free speech, Philip Morris USA said.

In National Association of Tobacco Outlets, Inc., et al. v. City of Worcester et al., case number 4:11−CV−40110−DPW, the judge threw out the municipal ordinance because it violated First Amendment rights, the tobacco company said in a statement.  (ci)