Following many other countries, U.S. warning labels on cigarette packages are about to get a lot more guilt-trippy. This morning, federal health officials unveiled nine new warning labels that will be plastered over cigarette packages next year.  "The graphic images will include photographs of horribly damaged teeth and lungs and a man exhaling smoke through a tracheotomy opening in his neck," reports The New York Times. "The Department of Health and Human Services selected nine color images among 36 proposed to accompany larger health warnings." Secretary of health and human services Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement praising the graphic photos as "frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking and they will help." Meanwhile, big tobacco is threatening legal action saying "the images would unfairly hurt their property and free-speech rights by obscuring their brand names in retail displays, and by demonizing and stigmatizing the companies," reports the Times. The FDA was given the power to more heavily regulate the tobacco industry following anti-smoking legislation President Obama signed into law two years ago. Here are the new images:

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at jhudson at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
John Hudson