Graphic Tobacco Warnings Could Soon Appear in Mass. Stores

Federal stimulus money could be used to pay for a Massachusetts campaign to mandate display of posters with graphic health warnings at tobacco retail outlets, the Boston Globe reported May 12.

The state’s Public Health Council is expected to formally endorse a program that would require retailers to display posters showing the damage smoking can cause to lungs, hearts and teeth; other posters would give smokers information on getting help to quit. The campaign is based on one pioneered overseas and in New York City.

The posters would be provided at no charge to retailers, but those who fail to display them near registers could face fines of $100 to $300.