JAFFREY, N.H. (AP) – A New Hampshire matchbook company is feeling the heat from an Ohio court case.

The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear an appeal by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., which is seeking to lift a lower court ruling that banned cigarette advertising on matchbooks.

If the high court allows the ban to stand, other states may follow Ohio’s lead, which would significantly hurt D.D. Bean & Sons, a Jaffrey maker of matches and matchbooks.

In December, D.D. Bean President Delcie Bean told The Sentinel of Keene that the Ohio ban already has contributed to layoffs and a 30 percent loss in revenue.

Last week, Bean said he would have no comment until after the high court rules.

The state of Ohio argues that matchbooks are a type of merchandise bearing a brand name – similar to a cap or backpack – that is banned under the $206 billion settlement that states reached with major tobacco companies in 1998.

An appeals court in Columbus agreed with that position in March.

It “is clear that advertising is not the sole function of the matchbooks as their primary function to the consumer is as a source of fire,” Judge Cynthia Lazarus wrote for the three-judge majority. “This means that functionally, matchbooks are no different from T-shirts or other items of apparel that sport a tobacco brand name and are banned” by the national settlement.

“The question is whether matchbooks are merchandise. The state believes matchbooks are merchandise,” Douglas Cole, the Ohio state solicitor, said last week.

The tobacco company contends the matchbooks generally are given away free with cigarette purchases and are just another form of advertising. In its brief filed with the Supreme Court, R.J. Reynolds cites matchbooks’ free distribution and history as a medium of advertising.

The distinction is an important one for D.D. Bean. As anti-smoking efforts have expanded, and disposable lighters have become the norm for many smokers, the match-making firm has increasingly relied on its matchbooks as a revenue stream. When the Ohio case was decided in the state courts, R.J. Reynolds suspended its contract with the Jaffrey firm.

According to the D.D. Bean Web site, the company, founded in 1938 is the largest manufacturer of matchbooks in North America.

AP-ES-03-14-04 1041EST