Discount Tobacco City & Lottery v. United States of America
The federal appeals court upheld most provisions of the new law giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products, including the requirement for large, graphic warnings on cigarette packs. This ruling affirms the authority of the FDA to take critical action to prevent the tobacco industry from continuing to target children and mislead the American public. The court majority found that the law’s requirement for large, graphic cigarette warning labels “are reasonably related to the government’s interest in preventing consumer deception and are therefore constitutional.” The court found that the warnings “do not impose any restriction on Plaintiff’s dissemination of speech, nor do they touch on Plaintiffs’ core speech. Instead, the labels serve as disclaimers to the public regarding the incontestable health consequences of using tobacco.”
The court also upheld key provisions of the law that: (1) Prohibit tobacco companies from making health claims about tobacco products without FDA review; (2) Ban several forms of tobacco marketing that appeal to children, including brand name sponsorships, tobacco-branded merchandise such as caps and t-shirts, and free samples of tobacco products; and (3) Prohibit tobacco companies from making statements implying that a tobacco product is safer because it is regulated by the FDA.
The ruling struck down two provisions of the law: one that bans the use of color and imagery in tobacco advertising in locations viewed by large numbers of youth and a second that prohibits free gifts with purchase of tobacco products. While the court struck down the ban on color and imagery as overly broad, it indicated it would uphold a narrower ban that applied to media and situations where the government demonstrated the impact on children.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal and denied a writ of certiorari on April 22, 2013.
The Campaign Tobacco-Free Kids and other public health groups filed an amicus brief urging the court to uphold the restrictions (see "Related Documents").
Discount Tobacco City & Lottery, et al. v. United States, et al., 674 F.3d 509 (6th Cir., 2012).
United States
Mar 19, 2012
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Supreme Court of United States (cert denied)
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
"Nearly fifty years ago, the Supreme Court upheld the proposition that, ―[t]o avoid giving a false impression that smoking [is] innocuous, the cigarette manufacturer who represents the alleged pleasures or satisfactions of cigarette smoking in his advertising must also disclose the serious risks to life that smoking involves. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504, 527, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 120 L.Ed.2d 407 (1992) (quoting 29 Fed.Reg. 8356 (1964)). Like other disclosures governed by the Zauderer standard, these tobacco disclosures may ―appear in such a form, or include such additional information, warnings, and disclaimers, as are necessary to prevent its being deceptive. Va. State Bd. of Pharmacy, 425 U.S. at 772 n. 24, 96 S.Ct. 1817. Plaintiffs argument for strict scrutiny is therefore unsupported."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
The federal appeals court upheld most provisions of the new law giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products, including the requirement for large, graphic warnings on cigarette packs. This ruling affirms the authority of the FDA to take critical action to prevent the tobacco industry from continuing to target children and mislead the American public. The court majority found that the law’s requirement for large, graphic cigarette warning labels “are reasonably related to the government’s interest in preventing consumer deception and are therefore constitutional.” The court found that the warnings “do not impose any restriction on Plaintiff’s dissemination of speech, nor do they touch on Plaintiffs’ core speech. Instead, the labels serve as disclaimers to the public regarding the incontestable health consequences of using tobacco.”
The court also upheld key provisions of the law that: (1) Prohibit tobacco companies from making health claims about tobacco products without FDA review; (2) Ban several forms of tobacco marketing that appeal to children, including brand name sponsorships, tobacco-branded merchandise such as caps and t-shirts, and free samples of tobacco products; and (3) Prohibit tobacco companies from making statements implying that a tobacco product is safer because it is regulated by the FDA.
The ruling struck down two provisions of the law: one that bans the use of color and imagery in tobacco advertising in locations viewed by large numbers of youth and a second that prohibits free gifts with purchase of tobacco products. While the court struck down the ban on color and imagery as overly broad, it indicated it would uphold a narrower ban that applied to media and situations where the government demonstrated the impact on children.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal and denied a writ of certiorari on April 22, 2013.
The Campaign Tobacco-Free Kids and other public health groups filed an amicus brief urging the court to uphold the restrictions (see "Related Documents").