tobacco companies started putting warning labels on cigarettes on january 1, 1965.
tobacco companies started putting warning labels on cigarettes on january 1, 1965.
when did tobacco companies start putting warning labels on cigarettes?
january 1, 1965
in 1966 the federal government mandated that cigarette packs have a warning on them from the surgeon general. see tobacco packaging warning messages. congress voted in 1973 that products containing “toxic substances” must have labels. in 1985 there was a testimony that wanted record companies to put labels on music that contained sexual or violent lyrics. on march 29, 1990 warning labels were put on music products that contained potentially offensive lyrics; this was done with the agreement of the recording companies. in 1989, alcohol was required to have their surgeon general’s warning.
history of warning labels in the us
in august 2011, five tobacco companies filed a lawsuit against the fda in an effort to reverse the new warning mandate. tobacco companies claimed that being required to promote government anti-smoking campaigns by placing the new warnings on packaging violates the companies' free speech rights. additionally, r.j. reynolds, lorillard, commonwealth brands inc., liggett group llc and santa fe natural tobacco company inc. claimed that the graphic labels are an unconstitutional way of forcing tobacco companies to engage in anti-smoking advocacy on the government's behalf. a first amendment lawyer, floyd abrams, represented the tobacco companies in the case, contending that requiring graphic warning labels on a lawful product cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. the association of national advertisers and the american advertising federation also filed a brief in the suit, arguing that the labels infringe on commercial free speech and could lead to further government intrusion if left unchallenged.
tobacco packaging warning messages