Judge Blocks Gruesome Cigarette Labels

They can help smokers quit, but anti-smoking groups still want ban

(NEWSER) - A recent experiment in Italy found that electronic cigarettes can help even hard-core smokers quit, boosting hopes that e-cigarettes could be a much better tool than more traditional products like nicotine patches and gum. So why are government officials and anti-smoking groups working to ban the device, which delivers a small amount of nicotine in an aerosol form? The New York Times takes an extensive look at the issue, and points out an odd reality: It’s the more liberal officials who are touting an "abstinence-only" policy when it comes to smoking cessation tools. More»

They argue that FDA's warnings violate their first amendment rights

(NEWSER) - Five major cigarette makers have filed a lawsuit against the FDA, claiming that its graphic new warning labels violate their First Amendment rights. “The government can require warnings which are straightforward and essentially uncontroversial,” a lawyer for the companies explained in a statement, “but they can't require a cigarette pack to serve as a mini-billboard for the government's anti-smoking campaign.” More»

That's one way to counter tobacco company lies!

(NEWSER) - The government has long accused those evil tobacco companies of running campaigns of deception to sell their products. Well, now the FDA is fighting fire with fire, Charles Hurt of the Washington Times has learned. The FDA has released a set of gruesome images that will soon be plastered on cigarette packs—and they are fabricated. “Some are photographs; some are illustrations,” a spokesman told Hurt. And good luck telling which is which. More»

Court decides electronic smokes should be treated like tobacco

(NEWSER) - The Food and Drug Administration's attempt to crack down on "electronic cigarettes" has been defeated in court. A federal appeals court ruled that the products, which create a nicotine vapor instead of smoke, should be treated like tobacco products—not like nicotine-placement gum or patches, which would place them under tighter regulation. The decision means that while the FDA can regulate the marketing of e-cigarettes, it hasn't got the power to restrict sales or block imports, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

(AP) - President Barack Obama cited his own long struggle to quit the cigarettes he took up as a teenager as he signed the strongest-ever US anti-smoking bill today and praised it for providing needed protections for future generations. "It is a law that will save American lives," Obama said. "The decades-long effort to protect our children from the harmful effects of smoking has finally emerged victorious." More»