worksheet

© Association for Practical and Professional Ethics 2012

SMOKE SIGNALS

In 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act became law. It

requires, among other things, that cigarette packages have more explicit and dramatic

health warnings, and display emphatic health warning messages and graphic, color

images meant to discourage smoking. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted

thirty-six images on the Internet from which the agency will select nine for use on

cigarette packages. Among the messages is “Smoking can kill you”, and the images

include a rotting lung, a diseased mouth, and a corpse. Business Week (November 10,

2010), quoted FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg: “When the rule takes

effect, the health consequences of smoking will be obvious every time someone picks up

a pack of cigarettes.”

Critics claim the packaging insults, embarrasses, and humiliates smokers and

discriminates against them. They also claim that government should not impose its views

about label content and that the legislation violates cigarette companies’ rights to free

speech.

Supporters of the governmental approach claim that the traditional warning labels on

cigarette packages have been much too small to offset the emotional appeals and

glamorization of smoking in advertising. They also point to studies documenting the

effectiveness of more explicit warnings. On the basis of these findings, many other

countries have mandated that more package surface area be devoted to health warnings.

FDA AND CIGARETTE PACKAGES