Cigarette Graphic Warning Rule Violates Companies’ Speech Rights

The US government can’t force R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and other cigarette companies to add large, graphic warnings to their packages because the rule violates their free speech rights, a federal judge in Texas said.

The rule isn’t narrowly enough tailored to serve the government’s interest in promoting public health, the court said, striking down the Food and Drug Administration’s second attempt to fashion graphic warnings under a 2009 law.

The Food and Drug Administration finalized the rule at issue in March 2020. Tobacco manufacturers and retailers bought a constitutional challenge the following month.

Eleven messages were required to appear ...