The federal government can’t require tobacco companies to put large graphic health warnings on cigarette packages to show that smoking can disfigure and even kill people, a divided federal appeals court panel ruled Friday.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington affirmed a lower court ruling that the requirement ran afoul of the First Amendment’s free speech protections.
Some of the nation’s largest tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., argued that the proposed warnings went beyond factual information into anti-smoking advocacy.
The Associated Press
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