Three newspapers in France have been fined between $950 US and $1,180 US for publishing photos of Formula One drivers wearing overalls adorned with tobacco logos.
A court of minor offences in Paris also ruled Le Point, Le Monde and Les Echos must pay the court costs of the group Rights of Non-Smokers, who brought the forth the court action.
Tobacco advertising is illegal in France and a number of publications which print F1 features and photos have had to ensure that only non-branded cars and drivers appear in photographs.
Meanwhile, European governments attempting to skirt the new European Union tobacco advertising ban by providing F1 teams and races with special exemptions won't be able to do so.
The European Commission says it will not tolerate such measures and has threatened to bring legal action against any country which goes forward with any exemptions.
Spain indicated it was planning to introduce legislation favourable to F1 and MotoGP events while Hungary is making similar plans.