The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington on 5 Dec rejected the government’s request to reconsider an August ruling that threw out graphic warning labels on cigarette packs as proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Associated Press reported.

Justice Department lawyers had asked for rehearing of the finding by a three-judge panel that the FDA's proposal for nine mandatory pictorial warnings violated free-speech rights of tobacco companies. The appeals court did not release its reasoning for rejecting the government request for reconsideration, the AP reported. The ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Court within 90 days.
When filing for reconsideration, the government also contended the Washington ruling conflicts with a ruling on the same issue by a federal appeals court in Cincinnati that upholds the right of the FDA to mandate large pictorial warnings. Tobacco companies have appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. (pi)