In a major blow to anti-tobacco campaigners, an appeals court in the United States has ruled that the government cannot force tobacco companies to display graphic warnings on cigarette packets as it was against free speech.

The US government, along with the Food and Drug Administration, had planned to bring in new regulations that could have made graphic health warnings at the back of cigarette packets mandatory. The FDA had selected nine images showing dead or addicted smokers to warn the public about dangers of smoking.

However the tobacco companies campaigned against the regulations, claiming that it did not provide any additional factual information and was instead a clear example of anti-smoking advocacy.