Tobacco giants in NYC file lawsuit over graphic anti-smoking posters

New York, June 04 (ANI): Tobacco giants Reynolds, Philip Morris and Lorillard are not happy with the graphic anti-smoking posters in New York City.

The three firms are suing the city over color images of cancer-ravaged lungs, a decayed tooth and a stroke-damaged brain released as part of the City's new ad campaign against smoking.

They claim that the pictures are "unappetizing" and violate the First Amendment.

"The signs...do not describe the risks of smoking in purely factual terms," the New York Daily News quoted the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court.

The stores are being forced to "undertake graphic advocacy on behalf of the city."

The lawsuit claims that is a case of breach of the First Amendment.

Two grocery stores and two retail groups have also joined the suit. (ANI)