US Chamber of Commerce

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, weighing in on a lawsuit over graphic cigarette warning labels, says the federal government has no legitimate authority to take space on a tobacco company’s packaging or advertising to persuade consumers not to buy the product. The pro-business lobbying group filed a friend of the court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington late Monday in the lawsuit brought by some of the largest U.S. tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. The suit challenges the Food and Drug Administration’s plan to require that graphic new warning labels be placed on cigarette packs later this year. The labels include the sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a picture of diseased lungs.