US appeals court rejects FDA rule needing 11 graphic warnings on cigarette packets

The rule was challenged by R.J. Reynolds, which is part of British American Tobacco BATS.L and had sued in 2020 alongside Imperial Brands' IMB.L subsidiary ITG Brands and Japan Tobacco's 2914.T JTI Liggett unit.

R.J. Reynolds and the FDA did not respond to requests for comment.

The FDA has repeatedly struggled to implement the 2009 law's warning label requirement, which has been stuck in litigation for years.

Its initial attempt in 2011 was rejected by a federal appeals court in Washington, which had held that it ran afoul of the free speech protections of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.

After a years-long delay and litigation by health and medical groups seeking to force the agency to act, the FDA in 2019 once again moved to implement the warning requirement, leading to the current lawsuit by the tobacco companies.