New York City - proposed pictorial warning signs to show the sickness and suffering caused by tobacco use.

June 25, 2009 - The New York City (NYC) Health Department is proposing city tobacco retailers post signs with graphic images such as cancer-ravaged throats and black lungs in an effort to discourage smoking, health officials said Wednesday.

The signs - the first of their kind in the country - would include health risk warnings and information on how to quit, said Sarah Perl, assistant commissioner of the city's Bureau of Tobacco Control. "You're going to see what a blackened lung looks like; you're going to see what mouth cancer looks like; you're going to see what it looks like when you have throat cancer," Perl said. "They're going to have to think, 'Do I really want to pay 10 bucks for mouth cancer?'"

The city Board of Health will hold hearings and vote in September on the proposal. Officials expect opposition from many of the city's 12,000 tobacco retailers and the cigarette industry.

Reefrence: NYC may require warning signs for tobacco retailers BY MICHAEL FRAZIER (michael.frazier@newsday.com), NewsDay.com, 6/24/2009.

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