Appellate Court: Nanny State Cigarette Warnings Unconstitutional

A small victory against the nanny state. Last Friday a federal appeals court ruled that the FDA's new graphic cigarette labels violate the First Amendment. The court concluded that the labels, which would occupy half of each cigarette pack's front and back panels as well as 1/5 of each cigarette ad, surpass the "purely factual and uncontroversial" disclosures that the Supreme Court has said the government may require to prevent "deception of consumers."

If you haven't seen the labels, prepare to be shocked. They're so over-the-top they'd make a Nazi propaganda artist blush. It's unsettling to think they were approved for use and it took an appeals court ruling to prevent them from hitting stores.