WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 17, 2011 – Yesterday, several major tobacco companies continued their campaign of public deception, filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, questioning the constitutionality of the FDA’s requirement that they include recently released graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging. A similar lawsuit was filed last year and the statute requiring graphic warning labels to appear on cigarette packaging was upheld by a judge in the U.S. District Court in Kentucky.
“Big Tobacco has shown that it is business as usual for an industry that will do anything to continue to promote its deadly and addictive products,” said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “The days of unfettered access to consumers, peddling products that have been proven to kill, are a thing of the past.”
The new graphic warning labels, which will cover 50 percent of the front and back of cigarette packs starting in September 2012, are part of the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and 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.
“For decades, the tobacco industry has used misleading and deceitful packaging terms, while the warning labels, which have not been changed in 25 years, have remained relatively hidden on the side of cigarette packages,” Seffrin said. “Larger, graphic warning labels have the potential to encourage adults to quit smoking cigarettes and deter children from starting in the first place.”
The new warning labels, released in June 2011, feature photos and drawings which depict the consequences of smoking and text, such as “Cigarettes Cause Cancer,” warning of the danger that comes with smoking. They can be viewed on www.fightcancer.org/protectkids. All new warning labels will also include the toll-free phone number 1-800-Quit-Now, which will connect callers with cessation programs in their state.
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:
Christina Saull or Alissa Havens
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 585-3250 or (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]