WASHINGTON, D.C. August 24, 2012 We are deeply disappointed with today 's federal court ruling blocking implementation of new graphic warning labels on all cigarette packs. The ruling is a victory for Big Tobacco in its effort to obstruct and delay the implementation of the new graphic warning labels.
While the tobacco industry has grown increasingly aggressive in preying upon the American public with misleading and fraudulent marketing practices over several decades, the warning labels have not been changed in 25 years. Overwhelming evidence demonstrates both that existing warnings have failed to inform the public adequately of the risks of tobacco use, and that the large, graphic warnings required by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would be effective at raising public awareness of the risks of smoking.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and larger, graphic warning labels on cigarette packs have the potential to encourage adults to quit smoking cigarettes and deter children from starting in the first place.
The new graphic warning labels, which would cover 50 percent of the front and back of cigarette packs, feature drawings that depict the consequences of smoking and text, such as äóÖCigarettes Cause Cancer. ' The FDA had also proposed that new warning labels include the toll-free phone number 1-800-Quit-Now, which connects callers with cessation programs in their state. The court 's rejection of the number represents a huge missed opportunity, because callers to quitlines are twice as likely to stop smoking as those who don 't seek this assistance.
The new graphic warning labels, which were released in June 2011 for implementation in September 2012, are just one of many important and common sense bipartisan provisions in the Tobacco Control Act, historic public health legislation signed into law in 2009 which grants the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacture, sale and marketing of tobacco products.
We hope the government can identify ways that the FDA can move forward with the new cigarette warning labels. Every delay in implementation serves the interests of Big Tobacco at the expense of human lives.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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