Anti-smoking posters in New York City shops come down

New York City cigar shops earned a small, but much needed victory recently, as their owners learned that they would no longer need to display anti-smoking posters on the premises. The ruling to strike down the posters was made by U.S. Federal District Court Judge Jed Rakoff, as he claimed that the New York City ordinance was a violation of federal law.

The posters at the center of this anti-smoking controversy in the Big Apple were part of a New York City law that demanded their display in any location where tobacco products were sold. The law used three posters in its campaign that described the dangers of smoking. To take the scare tactics even further, the posters had graphic images of the supposed after-effects of smoking. Different images were used in the posters: one of a diseased lung, one of a person's tooth and gums suffering from decay, and one of the damage inflicted on a brain due to stroke. Some shop owners claimed that the graphic nature of the posters was offensive and not too welcoming to customers, making this latest ruling a positive one for their businesses.

Rakoff stated that imposing such regulations on a city-wide scale violated federal law since only the federal government had the authority to control the content of tobacco warnings and advertisements. The 1965 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act backs this notion. Although this victory can be accredited to the three tobacco companies and NYC convenience stores that brought the suit, it's a victory for all of the affected businesses in the area. The warning posters were just another item in the line of anti-smoking actions taken in the state, including a sharp hike in taxes. As expected, many New York City officials are unhappy with the judge's decision. They probably will not take the ruling in stride, however, and some appeals may be coming soon.