U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Free Speech Case Against Reynolds Tobacco and Others

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a claim by Reynolds and other tobacco companies that warning labels on cigarette packs violate free speech, and a subordinate court ruling stands. The FDA emphasized the use of graphic warnings to raise public awareness of the dangers of smoking.

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Free Speech Case Against Reynolds Tobacco and Others

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear whether mandatory health warning labels on cigarette packs by tobacco companies such as RJ Reynolds violated free speech, Reuters reported on November 26. The decision means that the subordinate court’s ruling will remain in effect.

The background to the case is a 2020 FDA policy put in place during Donald Trump’s first administration. The policy requires cigarette pack health warnings to account for more than 50 percent of the packaging and advertising layout. Although this law and regulation are technically valid, the FDA has not strictly followed it because it has faced legal challenges.

Lawsuits filed by Reynolds Cigarettes (owned by British American Tobacco), ITG Brands(owned by Kingdom Cigarettes), Liggett(owned by Vector Group) 2020, and other tobacco companies have launched objections to warning labels. Tobacco companies say the warnings violate their free speech rights by forcing them to bolster the U.S. government’s anti-smoking messages by distorting or exaggerating the health effects of smoking.

The FDA says the use of images to increase public awareness of the dangers of smoking is justified because words alone cannot curb teen smoking.

J. Campbell Barker, U.S. District Judge in Texas, ruled in 2022 that the graphic warnings violated the protections of the First Amendment. However, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in March that the controversial warnings were “factual and not controversial” and met the relevant legal standards of the First Amendment. So the tobacco companies appealed again to the Supreme Court.

On Dec. 2, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about the agency’s refusal to sell condiment brands.

Renault Cigarettes did not comment on Monday on the Supreme Court’s decision to reject the appeal.