Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to graphic cigarette warning labels

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won’t hear a challenge to a federal requirement that cigarette packages and advertising include graphic images demonstrating the effects of smoking.

The high court declined to hear the case in a brief written order handed down Monday.

Tobacco company R.J. Reynolds appealed to the high court after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the warnings do not violate the First Amendment.

They include pictures of smoke-damaged lungs, feet blackened by diminished blood flow and a picture of a woman with a large growth on her neck and the caption “WARNING: Smoking causes head and neck cancer.”

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The company argued the final image, for example, was misleading because a patient would likely go to the doctor before a growth reached that size.

The Food and Drug Administration countered that all the pictures reflect undisputed risks of smoking.

Nearly 120 countries around the world have adopted larger, graphic warning labels. Studies from those countries suggest the image-based labels are more effective than text warnings at publicizing smoking risks and encouraging smokers to quit. The U.S. has not updated its labels since 1984.

It’s not clear when new labels might appear. Some legal claims remain and the FDA has said it doesn’t plan to enforce any new requirements until at least December 2025.