Judge Blocks FDA’s Rule Requiring Graphic Labels on Cigarettes

The label requirement goes beyond the FDA’s authority, ruling finds.

A man smokes a cigarette in New York City in a file photograph. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

A federal judge has blocked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule requiring graphic warning labels on cigarettes, finding that the requirement went beyond the FDA’s authority.

The Tobacco Control Act outlines one of nine specific warnings to be placed on cigarette packages, including “WARNING: Smoking can kill you.” In its 2019 rule, the FDA added two options and altered some of the others, including changing “Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby” to “Smoking during pregnancy stunts fetal growth.”