New York City Expected to Make Tobacco Sellers Post Warnings

The New York City Board of Health has proposed that city tobacco retailers be required to display graphic signs showing the adverse effects of smoking, such as cancer-ravaged mouths and blackened lungs, Oral Cancer News reported June 25.

The signs — which would be the first of their kind in the country — are designed to make smokers ask themselves, “Do I really want to pay 10 bucks for mouth cancer?” said Sarah Perl, assistant commissioner of the city’s Bureau of Tobacco Control.

Jim Calvin, president of the state’s Association of Convenience Stores, said that the recent federal tobacco-control law forbidding, among other things, ads aimed at children should be enough. 

However, the city’s Board of Health said its proposal, which would include health-risk warnings and information on how to quit, is targeted mostly at adult smokers. The board, which expects opposition from tobacco retailers and cigarette companies, will hold hearings and a vote on the proposal in September.