Jump to full article: The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, 2009-09-01
Author: DAVID KESMODEL, LAUREN ETTER and ALICIA MUNDY
Intro: Reynolds American Inc., Lorillard Inc. and several other tobacco companies filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block various provisions of a new federal tobacco law on the grounds that the provisions violate the companies' First Amendment rights.
The tobacco companies said the recently enacted law, which placed the industry under the oversight of the Food and Drug Administration, sharply restricts the companies' right to advertise their products to adult tobacco users.
The companies object to such provisions as a requirement that cigarette makers expand the size of warning labels so that they cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs, and include graphic images such as diseased lungs. This change, they say, would leave manufacturers with only a small and often-obscured portion of a cigarette pack to print their own messages.
The companies also challenged a rule that restricts their ability to publicize the relative health risks of certain products such as smokeless tobacco.
The suit was filed against the FDA in a federal district court in Bowling Green, Ky., the home of one of the plaintiffs, Commonwealth Brands Inc. An FDA spokeswoman said the agency doesn't comment on lawsuits. . . .
The advertising industry is watching the issue closely to see how any court ruling could impact not only the tobacco industry, but other industries as well. This case "is extremely significant," said Dan Jaffe, executive vice president of the advertising lobby.
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