Big Tobacco Takes on NYC

In an action that won’t make the tenuous relationship between Big Tobacco and New York City less volatile, Phillip J. Morris, R.J Reynolds and Lorillard filed a lawsuit challenging the New York City Board of Health.  Specifically, they are challenging the Board’s mandate that cigarette vendors show graphic anti-smoking posters near their cash registers (CBS News).

In the complaint, the tobacco companies allege that the Board is restricting their first amendment rights by barring them from communicating with adults about “lawful products.”  The posters are made by the board and include graphic pictures of a decayed tooth and cancerous lungs, with the charge “Quit Smoking Today.”

In response, the New York Health Department is firmly backing the resolution, which has been in effect since last September, stating that point of sale posters are a valuable tool in discouraging teenagers from picking up the smoking habit.

The Rudd Center website doesn’t have anything flattering to say about tobacco companies and what they refer to as their inability to “play fair,” when it comes to health and safety messages.

According to the Center, Big Tobacco feigned cooperation with health officials after publishing their 1954 “Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers.”  The Center states that while the tobacco industry asserted that they had the health and well being of the public as their first priority, they in fact have made numerous attempts to contradict scientists who have repeatedly proven that cigarettes are hazardous (yaleruddcenter.org).

The American Cancer Society, per its website, states that 1 in 5 deaths in the United States can be directly attributed to tobacco.

As for the current debate, the New York State Board of Health has good reason to want to try and protect American teenagers from the dangers of smoking; according to a 2007 study, 20% of high school students are smokers (www.cancer.org).