'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
The legal battle over graphic labels on cigarette packages edged closer to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, as a federal appellate court declined to reconsider its decision that found the labels unconstitutional.
States have collected billions of dollars from tobacco companies but spent only 3 percent of it to combat smoking - a less-than-robust response to the high costs of health care associated with smoking, a federal report released Thursday says.
Baseball's new labor deal will limit the use of smokeless tobacco by players, but not ban it during games, as some public health groups had sought.
"The states have an obligation to use more of their billions in tobacco revenues to fight the tobacco problem. Their failure to do so makes no sense given the evidence that tobacco prevention programs save lives and save money by helping reduce health care costs," said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Tobacco-Free Kids initiative.
Moreover, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit "upheld the graphic warning-labels requirement enacted by Congress in 2009," Mr. Myers said. "The split legal decisions compel the Supreme Court to settle the issue."
