With the FDA’s ban on the words such as “light,” “mild,” “medium,” and “low-tar” from cigarette packaging going into effect today, Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. have switched to colored packaging to communicate differences in products. The FDA is challenging this use of colors, arguing that it suggests certain products are safer.
In today’s Winston Salem Journal, ACSH’s Jeff Stier weighs in on the FDA’s effort to ban certain types of colored packaging:
The FDA apparently wants to do everything it can to take away every advantage to a cigarette brand except the brand itself. It’s a pretty aggressive move, especially given that for most manufacturers, their packaging is the most valuable real estate they have. It seems like an overreach by the FDA regarding First Amendment rights to communicate speech.