Thursday, Nov. 11: In An Effort To Curb Smoking, F.D.A. Proposes Graphic Labels For Cigarettes

Despite bans on smoking in restaurants and bars, heavy regulation of advertising, and the rising cost of cigarettes, one out of every five adults in the US still smokes. Each day, about 1,000 children become regular smokers. Public health officials say that those numbers are simply too high—so they are stepping up their anti-smoking efforts. Yesterday the FDA unveiled 36 proposed warning labels for cigarette packs---designed to cover half the surface area of a pack of cigarettes, and a fifth of any advertisements for them. The labels—which feature images like a corpse, rotted teeth, and a man smoking through a tracheotomy hole in his neck —are required under a new law that gave the FDA the power to regulate—but not ban—tobacco products. Does this overly demonize the 46-plus million smokers in the US? Will these kinds of labels —already adopted by dozens of other countries—really spur smokers to quit? And do these regulations infringe on cigarette manufacturer and tobacco retailer’s free speech rights? We’re joined by John Banzhaf, professor of public interest law at George Washington University, and the executive director of Action on Smoking and Health.
  See all of the FDA's proposed warning images