HHS "confident" it can compel cigarette makers to use graphic warning labels

On Thursday, President Obama’s Health and Human Services Department — which oversees the FDA — issued a statement disagreeing with Judge Leon’s ruling:

“This public health initiative will be an effective tool in our efforts to stop teenagers from starting (smoking) in the first place and taking up this deadly habit. We are confident that efforts to stop these important warnings from going forward will ultimately fail.”

As USA Today reported, the issue could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, because Leon’s decision conflicts with a January 2010 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph McKinley in Bowling Green, Ky., who upheld key provisions of the new law, including the warning label requirement.