Court: required graphic cigarette warnings are constitutional

A government requirement that cigarettes show graphic warnings about the dangers of smoking is constitutional. A federal appeals court this week upheld the required graphic warnings on cigarette packs and advertisements. The reversal of a lower court ruling is a victory for the Biden administration and a defeat for the tobacco industry. Big tobacco complained that the warnings violated their free speech rights. But the government argued that graphic warnings and images were necessary because text-only warnings failed to deter teenagers from smoking.