WASHINGTON ? Advertisers represented by the Association of National Advertisers have charged that the Food and Drug Administration?s (FDA) new mandatory health warnings for cigarette packages, which include nine different warnings accompanied by graphic pictures, run afoul of the First Amendment and that they are considering legal action, Adweek.com reports.
"The pictures are not neutral. It is unconstitutional when the labeling goes beyond factual and neutral, which these do," said Dan Jaffe, general counsel for the Association of National Advertisers, which filed in opposition to the new warnings during the comment period in January. "This is forcing businesses to carry out propaganda for the government."
The FDA proposed the warnings as required by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, maintaining the labels would help curb tobacco use.
?These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking, and they will help encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking,? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius�said in a statement.�
Tobacco companies filed a federal suit in 2009 over a range of new regulations, including the then-proposed warnings, losing on a First Amendment claim. The case is now on appeal.
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