The federal courts are sometimes ridiculous about what they call free speech.
The District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down a Food and Drug Administration rule that cigarette packages carry graphic warnings. The 2-1 decision held that such graphics violate free speech.
How? Smoking is a great evil. Let people die an early death from smoking if they choose. But the government has the right to show the peril.
The graphics show color images of a man exhaling smoke through a hole in his throat. They show a plume of smoke enveloping an infant being kissed by his mother. Other images show rotting teeth, diseased lungs--and a corpse.
The gripping illustrations tell smokers in general and teenagers in particular about the risks of smoking. They were enacted by Congress to point out that cigarettes are addictive and that second-hand smoke harms kids.
The District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down a Food and Drug Administration rule that cigarette packages carry graphic warnings. The 2-1 decision held that such graphics violate free speech.
How? Smoking is a great evil. Let people die an early death from smoking if they choose. But the government has the right to show the peril.
The graphics show color images of a man exhaling smoke through a hole in his throat. They show a plume of smoke enveloping an infant being kissed by his mother. Other images show rotting teeth, diseased lungs--and a corpse.
The gripping illustrations tell smokers in general and teenagers in particular about the risks of smoking. They were enacted by Congress to point out that cigarettes are addictive and that second-hand smoke harms kids.
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Kerry Lauerman
Joan Walsh
Salon.com
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