Last year, this court ruling was made concerning the images at the top of this post:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently unanimously upheld the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s mandate for graphic health warning labels on cigarette packs and advertising.

The graphic health warning labels show written statements with photo-realistic color images depicting some serious health risks of cigarette smoking. Risks include impact to fetal growth, cardiac disease, diabetes, and more.

… [The] appeals court upheld the FDA requirement for the labels and rejected “arguments from R.J. Reynolds that the labels violate the First Amendment or take up too much space on packages,” according to the Public Health Law Center (PHLC).

“In upholding the graphic warning labels, the Fifth Circuit determined that the warnings are ‘factual and uncontroversial’ and promote a legitimate government interest,” said the PHLC.

But it doesn’t matter what kind of warnings appear on packs as far as smokers in this state are concerned, according to the Kentucky Lantern:

Kentucky is the worst state in the nation for new lung cancer cases, a report shows. 

The American Lung Association’s State of Lung Cancer report, released Wednesday, shows lung cancer is the commonwealth’s leading cause of death. Kentucky has the second-highest rate of smoking in the nation — behind only West Virginia. 

Shannon Baker, the advocacy director for the Lung Association in Kentucky, said the state’s return to second-worst smoking rates (a decline from the previous ranking of fourth in the nation) is “a threat to the progress that we’ve made” to combat lung cancer. 

Kentucky is screening lung cancer at higher rates than the national average, and has a law on the books requiring insurance to cover biomarker testing. Biomarker testing “is a way to look for genes, proteins and other substances (called biomarkers or tumor markers) that can provide information about cancer,” according to the National Cancer Institute. 

Despite this work, cancer cases remain high. 

The American Lung Association has a complete rundown on smoking in Kentucky. Here are some of the key points:

In terms of tobacco use:

• The 2022 smoking rate in Kentucky is 17.4% and significantly higher than the 2023 national rate of 11.4%.
• It ranks 50th among all states, placing it in the bottom tier.

And among the minority population:

• The rate of new lung cancer cases is 76.8 per 100,000 population among Black individuals in Kentucky, significantly higher than the rate of 54.2 among Black individuals nationally, and significantly lower than the rate of 86.2 among white individuals in Kentucky. 
• The five-year survival rate is 26.4% among Black individuals in Kentucky, not significantly different than the rate of 27.1% among Black individuals nationally, and not significantly different than the rate of 25.4% among white individuals in Kentucky. 
• 25.3% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage among Black individuals in Kentucky, not significantly different than the rate of 25.1% among Black individuals nationally, and not significantly different than the rate of 27.5% among white individuals in Kentucky. 
• 18.4% of Black individuals with lung cancer in Kentucky underwent surgery, not significantly different than the rate of 17.1% among Black individuals nationally, and not significantly different than the rate of 19.5% among white individuals in Kentucky. 
• 19.8% of Black individuals with lung cancer in Kentucky did not receive any treatment, significantly lower than the rate of 22.7% among Black individuals nationally, and not significantly different than the rate of 20.6% among white individuals in Kentucky. 

Kentuckians are still smoking despite the warnings. And they’re getting lung cancer at a higher rate than the rest of the nation.

The ALA notes “Kentucky was one of the states that required insurance coverage of comprehensive biomarker testing, which can help determine what treatment options would be best for individuals with lung cancer and other diseases.”

But since the Republican legislators Kentucky are still working to eliminate access to healthcare, and since eight feckless Democratic senators have essentially given the GOP carte blanche to kill their constituents, the biomarker testing will be in doubt and the future will involve more coughing and dying in the Bluegrass state.