Graphic anti-tobacco posters coming to retailers in Massachusetts

Massachusetts could become the first state in the nation to force retailers to display graphic posters and advertisements about the dangers of smoking in prominent places. The ads will have to be placed next cash registers and cigarette racks within stores, in plain sight of those purchasing tobacco. If the Department of Public Health approves the measures, as is expected, over 9,000 pharmacies, convenience stores, and gas stations could have the ads in their stores by the end of the year.

The posters will contain images of darkened lungs, damaged brains, and diseased teeth. The images must be displayed within two feet of registers and tobacco racks within effected stores. Retailers who fail to conform to the new guidelines could face fines ranging from $100 to $300.

As expected, the retail industry is unhappy with the new measures. They argue that corner stores are already overly cramped with too many regulatory postings and will be burdened trying to find yet more room to place the anti-tobacco ads.

The graphic anti-tobacco campaign needs the initial approval of a Public Health Council which consists of a panel of doctors, disease trackers, and consumer activists. Panel members have already expressed their support of the plan. Massachusetts has long been one of the forerunners in the anti-smoking movement in the United States. The state got the idea for its new graphic ad campaign from a similar campaign that began in New York City shops last December. Roughly 11,500 shops in New York City began displaying similar graphic imagery in their “nothing left to the imagination” anti-tobacco campaign.