“ This case raises novel questions about the scope of the government’s authority to force the manufacturer of a product to go beyond making purely factual and accurate commercial disclosures and undermine its own economic interest — in this case, by making ‘every single pack of cigarettes in the country mini billboard’ for the government’s anti-smoking message.
U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Janice Rogers Brown • In her opinion regarding the graphic packaging used for cigarette packs, which are federally-regulated. The Washington D.C. Court of Appeals struck down the ads in a 2-1 ruling Friday, with Brown writing that the government “has not provided a shred of evidence” that the packaging actually reduces smoking, and the court as a whole saying that the images violated corporate speech requirements. Five cigarette companies challenged the branding rules — which were upheld by another appeals court, raising the chances that the Supreme Court will rule on the issue. (via shortformblog)
And again, ripped from the headlines, the duality this play allows us to explore—the age-old wrestling of competing or contrasting rights without a clear wrong—keeps popping up…. health vs commerce, no less….
(via npr)
