Supreme Court decision clears way for graphic cigarette warning labels
Image of graphic images on cigarette warning labels. (Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration)
The Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to a federal requirement that cigarette packages and advertising feature graphic images showing the impact of smoking.
R.J. Reynolds, a tobacco company, appealed to the Supreme Court after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the cigarette warnings do not violate the First Amendment, the Associated Press reported.
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Warning labels include pictures of smoke-damaged lungs, feet blackened by a lack of blood flow and a picture of a woman with a large growth on her neck with a caption that reads "WARNING: Smoking causes head and neck cancer."
The AP noted that R.J. Reynolds contends that the final image, for example, was misleading because a person would go to the doctor before a growth reached that size.
Image of graphic images on cigarette warning labels. (Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration)
But the Food and Drug Administration argued that the pictures in the advertisements demonstrate the risks of smoking.
According to the AP, almost 120 countries globally have incorporated larger, graphic warning labels.
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Studies from those countries imply the image-based labels are more effective than text warnings when explaining smoking risks and urging smokers to quit.
The U.S. has not updated its cigarette warning labels since 1984, and it is unclear when the new labels may appear. According to the AP, some legal claims are lingering, and the Food and Drug Administration tells the news outlet that it does not plan to implement new requirements until December 2025.