FDA releases new proposed warning labels for cigarettes

Photo: David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images

The FDA is trying again to add graphic warnings to cigarette packages to discourage smoking, including images of neck tumors, diseased lungs and feet with amputated toes, AP reports.

Why it matters: The labels would also be included in tobacco advertisements. While small text warnings are currently included on cigarette packages, they haven't been updated since 1984 and “go unnoticed," the FDA said.

Situational awareness: The agency has made a similar effort before, but it was defeated in court in 2012 after tobacco companies argued that it violated their free speech rights.

The agency said that the new warning effort is supported by research showing that it will educate the public about the less commonly known risks of smoking, and that it believes that it would survive legal challenges.

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Why it matters: Though Bloomberg Philanthropies has backed efforts to curb tobacco use around the world before, this is reportedly the organization's first time financing an anti-tobacco initiative in the U.S., per the Washington Post. The pledge follows state and federal investigations into multiple deaths from an unknown lung illness linked to vaping.

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Why it matters: The non-tobacco flavors — including mango, fruit and mint — are at the center of a dramatic rise in youth vaping that has schools and parents on widespread alert.

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FDA warns Juul for misleading advertising

Photo: Axel Heimken/picture alliance via Getty Images

The FDA sent a warning letter to Juul on Monday threatening fines and/or product seizure for misleadingly marketing its vaping technology — especially in its outreach to youths — as less harmful than cigarettes.

Why it matters: After a spate of respiratory illness reports, the CDC issued a formal warning last month against the broad use of e-cigarettes and recommended that users avoid buying bootlegged vaping products. State attorneys general are also targeting the vaping startup through investigations and lawsuits designed to prevent youths from using the product.

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