Court Rules That Stores Should Not Have To Display Gruesome Anti-Smoking Images: Report

A Manhattan appeals court has ruled that the city’s Health Department cannot require stores that sell cigarettes to put up anti-smoking ads with grotesque images, NY 1 reported.

Three years ago, the city required businesses that sell tobacco products to display signs in their stores that showed such images as a cancerous lung or a rotting tooth caused by smoking.

But three of the nation’s biggest tobacco companies – Lorillard, R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris – joined retailers’ groups in a lawsuit against the city.

In a statement, the Health Department said the signs “provided helpful information about how to quit at a place where smokers were most likely to see it.”

Patch wants to know: Do you agree with the appeals court’s ruling? Do you believe stores that sell cigarettes should be forced to display signs with gruesome images as an effort to inform smokers about health risks?

Or, do you think this goes too far and store owners should be able to choose whether to post the signs?

Cast your vote in Patch’s poll and add your comments to the section provided below.