RICHMOND: Several states and US territories are weighing in on a lawsuit over proposed graphic cigarette warning labels that include a sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a picture of diseased lungs, saying the federal government should be allowed to require the labels for the “lethal and addictive” products.

The 24 attorneys general filed a friend of the court brief on Friday in the US Court of Appeals in Washington in support of the Food and Drug Administration’s challenge of a lower court ruling in the case.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has joined Senator Dick Durbin in condemning the Orange Bowl for accepting sponsorship from a cigar company and urging the NCAA to prohibit such sponsorship. In a letter to the Orange Bowl and the NCAA, the Campaign writes: “As public health groups that combat the use of tobacco and its devastating toll on American families every day, we urge the Orange Bowl Committee and the NCAA to cancel a cigar company sponsorship of the Discover Orange Bowl. Tobacco has no place in sports, and the promotion of cigars at such a prestigious sporting event entices youth and young adults, putting them at risk of developing a deadly addiction.”

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