NATO has submitted a three-page letter to the Philadelphia Board of Health, detailing how the proposed ordinance requiring graphic health warning signs to be posted at each register in a retail store that sells tobacco products is pre-empted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act and violates the First Amendment free speech protections afforded to businesses.
A hearing on the proposed ordinance is scheduled for Thursday, September 8th and NATO President Andrew Kerstein, as well as a local retailer, are registered to testify in opposition to the ordinance.
According to the Philadelphia Board of Health, the proposed warning signs would contain information about cigarettes and non-cigarette tobacco products and adverse health effects resulting from use, a pictorial or graphic image showing those effects and information about how to get help for individuals interested in quitting.
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