Plans to roll out the first change in cigarette warnings in more than 25 years are on hold. A federal appeals court is considering whether or not the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) mandated large graphic health warnings on cigarette packages are constitutional.
Packages of cigarettes with one of nine graphic photos showing specific health risks associated with smoking, along with text designed to persuade smokers to quit and new smokers — typically teens — not to start, were due to hit store shelves in September 2012. But some of the nation’s largest cigarette manufacturers, including R.J. Reynolds American and Lorillard Inc., sued the government to block the mandate.
The warnings were to cover the entire top half of cigarette packs, front and back, and include the phone number for a stop-smoking hotline, 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Cigarette makers say the marketing mandate violates their free speech. In February District of Columbia District Court Judge Richard J. Leon agreed and blocked the requirement.
Last week, a three-judge panel questioned whether the government's proposed warnings cross over from being factual information into anti-smoking advocacy, reported the Associated Press (AP).
“At this week's hearing, judges questioned how far the government could go, such as putting graphic warnings on cars that ‘speed kills,’” an AP news release reported.
Judge Janice Brown, one of three panelists asked if the government could mandate a cigarette warning that said, "Stop! If you buy this product, you are a moron," or "Smokers are idiots."
Brown also questioned whether the government was on a path to put warnings on other legal products. The AP reported that she asked, "Where does this stop?"
Lawyers for the tobacco companies argued the point by superimposing the FDA tobacco image of a cadaver onto a McDonald's bag with the warning that fatty foods may cause heart disease, and the FDA's image of a premature baby in an incubator on a bottle of alcohol, with a warning that drinking during pregnancy can cause birth defects.
They also showed a Hershey's chocolate bar with half the wrapper covered by a picture of a mouth of rotting teeth and a warning that candy causes tooth decay.
Justice Department attorney Mark Stern said those comparisons trivialized an important issue. “Addiction really means addiction,” he said, and smoking is not like eating candy, according to the AP report.
A third judge on the panel, Judith W. Rogers, didn't ask any questions of the Obama administration, but instead grilled Noel J. Francisco, a lawyer for tobacco companies. Rogers asked Francisco if he was challenging the accuracy of the FDA's text warnings, such as that smoking causes cancer and heart disease.
The lawyer said he was not, but said the government was going beyond mere facts by including a phone number to quit. "The government is trying to send a powerful message: Quit smoking now," he said. He argued that when the message tells people to live a certain way, it crosses the line from facts to advocacy, reported AP.
Large graphic photos and large easy-to-read text on cigarette packages are used by several countries around the world and have shown to be an effective tool to reduce smoking. According to Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada, picture-based cigarette warnings make smokers feel more confident about quitting. They are also inexpensive for governments to implement, and tobacco companies pay the costs of printing them.
In March another court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, largely upheld the U.S. government's authority to regulate tobacco products, including requirements calling for stronger, graphic warnings on cigarettes. Legal observers believe the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately decide on key provisions of the tobacco law, such as the graphic warning labels.
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Lynette Summerill is an award-winning writer and Scuba enthusiast living in San Diego, CA with her husband and two beach loving dogs. In addition to writing about cancer-related issues for EmpowHER, her work has been seen in newspapers and magazines around the world.
Sources and Consumer information:
Court weighs graphic health warnings on cigarettes. The Associated Press. 10 April 2012. Frederic J. Frommer. Access online at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h5hLL44p-H-MwIXoeGxyo-j-niUw?docId=673736cedfd44175a3c8af3b082b8e76
Cigarette Warnings. FDA website. Accessed 12 April 2012 at: http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/CigaretteWarningLabels/default.htm
Picture-based Cigarette Health Warnings. Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada with assistance from the Canadian Cancer Society. Access online http://www.smoke-free.ca/warnings
Reviewed April 17, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith