Tobacco law drives lawsuits from tobacco firms

Executive Summary

The law passed in June requiring FDA to regulate tobacco products sparks a lawsuit against the agency by tobacco manufacturers (1"The Tan Sheet" June 15, 2009). The lawsuit, filed Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green, Ky., alleges some of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act's provisions violate First Amendment rights by, for example, restricting manufacturers' communication with adult tobacco users and requiring sizeable warning labels, which will reduce space for product labels. The second-largest tobacco firm, Reynolds American Inc., joined the complaint, but market leader Philip Morris USA, which supported the law, is not party to the suit