NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The ongoing tug-of-war between regulators and tobacco companies has returned to the schools, with a new report that media publishers have agreed to pull tobacco ads from school-bound magazines upon request.

Advertising Age, an industry trade publication, reported Wednesday that stripped-down editions of Newsweek, Time, People and Sports Illustrated may soon appear in school libraries without the tobacco ads that appear in their regular print runs.

Time Inc., which publishes Time, People and Sports Illustrated, is a unit of Time Warner (Research), as is CNN/Money.

The magazine industry reportedly reached an agreement with state regulators to offer schools the free option of "selective binding" for their subscription magazines. The deal comes four months after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called for the move as part of the government campaign to limit tobacco marketing to young consumers.

Publishers already provide tobacco-free advertising for special "classroom editions" of major magazines like Time and Newsweek. But according to a study cited by Advertising Age, more than 70 percent of New York's middle school and high school libraries carry the regular editions.

The "selective binding" deal isn't a complete victory for the anti-tobacco crowd, however: the major magazine publishers won't remove tobacco ads from school-bound editions. That decision will reportedly be left up to the tobacco companies.

Advertising Age said the "selective binding" option will be available before the next school year starts.