Some of the largest tobacco companies in the country are part of a group of five companies that filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday. The companies include R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, Commonwealth, Liggett, and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco. They are suing the FDA, its chief, Margaret Hamburg, and Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services Secretary. The federal government reached an agreement in June that extremely graphic warning labels are mandatory on cigarette packages. The labels have photos and a phone number for 1-800-QUIT-NOW and must appear on packages starting in September 2012. The tobacco companies are saying that this infringes on their First Amendment rights.
According to Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment case expert as well as a representative of the plaintiffs, "The primary complaint is that we think it violates the First Amendment for the government to require people who produce a lawful product to essentially urge prospective purchasers not to buy it." He followed by saying, "[We’re] seeking resolution prior to [the deadline for the labels to appear], in light of all the funds that would need to be expended changing current warnings to the level of screaming at prospective purchasers not to buy the product." The FDA has yet to release a comment on the situation.
Considering how many deaths tobacco products have led to in the United States, many people believe the graphic warning labels are an important addition to cigarette packages. The current labels have been in place for 25 years, and many think it’s time for an update.
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