FDA Adding Disturbing Pictures to Cigarette Packages: Violation of the First Amendment?
Nine years ago, the Food and Drug Administration proposed for warnings to be added to the side of cigarette packages. Nine years ago, it was passed, and now they are back at trying to put labels even bigger labels on cigarettes. But is this a violation of the First Amendment as it is limiting what the cigarette companies are allowed to advertise on their packets. The FDA proposed 13 new warnings that are pictured above, each has a different picture that goes along with a different warning. The FDA wants manufactures to use these warnings to cover the top half of the cigarette packages. Mitchell Zeller who runs the FDA’s tobacco division stated, “When you look at the current warnings on the side of the cigarette packs, they are virtually invisible. The diseases embedded in these images will improve public understanding of the negative consequences of smoking.” (The New York Times, 2019) The FDA first proposed for images to be added to packages in 2010 an