Tobacco Giants Sue Over Gross Labels

Five major cigarette makers have filed a lawsuit against the FDA, claiming that its graphic new warning labels violate their First Amendment rights. “The government can require warnings which are straightforward and essentially uncontroversial,” a lawyer for the companies explained in a statement, “but they can't require a cigarette pack to serve as a mini-billboard for the government's anti-smoking campaign.”

The suit, filed on behalf of RJ Reynolds, Lorillard Tobacco, Commonwealth Brands, Liggett Group, and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco, argues that the government can’t force them to make their customers “depressed, discouraged, and afraid” to buy their smokes, the BBC reports. But a similar suit was already shot down by a US district court in Kentucky last year; it's currently before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Notably absent from this suit is Phillip Morris, which has threatened to sue Australia over similar labels. (More cigarettes stories.)