The Supreme Court has decided not to hear a case challenging the federal requirement for cigarette packages and advertising to feature graphic images illustrating the harmful effects of smoking. This decision was announced in a brief order issued on Monday.
R.J. Reynolds, a major tobacco company, had appealed to the Supreme Court after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the graphic warnings do not violate the First Amendment. The images in question include depictions of smoke-damaged lungs, feet affected by reduced blood flow, and a photograph of a woman with a large growth on her neck accompanied by a warning about head and neck cancer.
