Tobacco Bill

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a tobacco industry challenge to a 2009 federal law that required graphic warning labels on cigarettes and expanded marketing restrictions on tobacco products.The challengers, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co., argued that parts of the law, which gave the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco, violated their constitutional free-speech rights.The law mandated that tobacco manufacturers allow half of the space on the front and back of cigarette packages for graphic health warnings. It also barred marketing practices like cigarette-brand sponsorships of sporting or cultural events.The companies said the provisions burdened their protected right to communicate with adults about their products.A Cincinnati-based federal appeals court upheld most of the law last year, citing the government's interest in consumer awareness about the health risks from smoking. The Supreme Court, in a short written order, l...

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