The FDA's push to put graphic images on cigarette packages is headed to the a US court of appeals in Washington, D.C. this week. The government agency wants to put the shocking images on the packages to scare smokers about possible health risks, but according to a public radio report, the big tobacco companies feels it violated their free speech.
The proposed images include diseased lungs, rotting teeth, and even a corpse, but one free speech expert says the government may be overstepping their First Amendment bounds.
"It's going beyond I think what is necessary," says David Hudson, a scholar at the First Amendment Center in Nashville tells public radio sources. "It's just so in your face, so graphic, these images — it's just simply too much."
Anti-tobacco advocates argue, however, that it's time the cigarette companies show the true effect of their products.
"We are dealing with an industry with a decades-long history of deceiving the public about the health risks of smoking, and the enhanced warning labels are a direct response to the deception of the industry," Liss says.
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Political News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.