Requiring ugly images of smoking’s harm on cigarettes won’t breach First Amendment, court says

By KEVIN McGILL
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court says a requirement that cigarette packs and advertising include graphic images demonstrating the effects of smoking does not violate the First Amendment. The ruling Thursday from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a partial victory for federal regulators seeking to toughen warning labels. But the court kept alive a tobacco industry challenge of the rule. It says a lower court should review whether the rule was adopted in accordance with a federal law that governs the development of regulations. Required images include pictures of smoke-damaged lungs and feet blackened by diminished blood flow.