Tag: u.s.

  • Warnings Don’t Violate First Amendment: Court

    Warnings Don’t Violate First Amendment: Court

    Image: zimmytws

    The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal requirement for cigarette packs and advertising include graphic images of the effects of smoking, including images of smoke-damaged lungs and blackened feet, does not violate the First Amendment of the Constitution, reports AP News.

    The ruling came from a three-judge panel, consisting of Jerry Smith, Jennifer Walker Elrod and James Graves, that also kept alive a tobacco industry challenge of the rule, stating that a lower court should review whether the rule was adopted in accordance with the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the development of regulations.

    The panel rejected the argument from the tobacco industry that the rule violates free speech rights and that the requirement overcomes branding and messaging on packages and advertisements due to the size of the images and lettering.

    This latest ruling overturns a lower court order from a Texas federal district court, which ruled that the requirements violate the First Amendment.

    “We disagree,” Smith wrote for the 5th Circuit panel. “The warnings are both factual and uncontroversial.”

    The U.S. is among about 120 countries globally that have adopted larger graphic health warnings. Studies from other countries suggest that the image-based labels are more effective than text warnings.

  • Healthcare Bill Could Raise Tobacco Taxes

    Healthcare Bill Could Raise Tobacco Taxes

    Image: JenkoAtaman

    The proposed U.S. Care for Moms Act would support the maternal health workforce, promote access to prenatal and postpartum care and provide resources to mothers as well as increase the excise tax on tobacco products, according to CSP.

    The National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) outlined the tobacco-related proposals in the act: increasing tax on cigarettes from $1.01 to $2.02 per pack; implementing a new e-cigarette tax that would equalize the tax on cigarettes; increasing the tax on moist snuff from $0.11 per 1.2 oz tin to $2.02 per can; doubling the tax on small cigars from $50.33 to $100.66; implementing a new weight-based tax methodology on large cigars; doubling the tax on roll-your-own; and equalizing the tax on chewing tobacco and pipe tobacco to tax them like cigarettes.

    Similar tax legislation has failed in past congressional sessions, according to the NATO.

    The Care for Moms Act also includes provisions to establish a state-based perinatal quality collaborative grant program, establish regional centers of excellence to tackle implicit bias and promote cultural competence among health professionals, support federal efforts to grow and diversify the doula workforce and extend Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers in all 50 states.