WASHINGTON — A federal judge peppered a government lawyer with questions Wednesday expressing doubts about whether the Food and Drug Administration can force tobacco companies to post graphic images on their cigarette packages showing the health effects of smoking.
In a two-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon closely questioned Justice Department lawyer Mark Stern on whether the nine graphic images proposed by the FDA convey just the facts about the health risks of smoking or go beyond that into advocacy — a critical distinction in a case over free speech.
The cigarette companies sued in an effort to block the FDA from enforcing the requirement, which would go into effect a year from now.
The images include a cloud of cigarette smoke within inches of a baby’s face and a pair of healthy lungs next to the diseased lungs of a smoker.
If the judge were to conclude the images amount to advocacy, that would make it more likely that the tobacco companies would be able to block the government’s latest move in regulating the industry.
