Philip Morris Sues FDA Over Plans for Graphic Warning Labels
- Cigarette maker says requirement violates free-speech rights
- Big Tobacco beat back a previous proposal for such warnings
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
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Philip Morris USA Inc. sued the Trump administration over requirements that tobacco companies put large, graphic warning labels featuring images of premature babies and bloody organs on cigarette packs by 2021.
The maker of Marlboro cigarettes for the U.S. market said in its suit, filed Wednesday in Washington, that the new rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration violate First Amendment free-speech rights. The proposed warning labels would cover half of the exterior of cigarette packs, which is “an unprecedented amount of premium real estate,” the company said.