Retailers Selling Tobacco Products Required To Post Signs On Smoking Dangers

Retailers that sell tobacco products are now required to post signs that educate the public about the dangers of smoking.

Oklahoma's 'Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust' or T-SET is increasing awareness about a new mandate that impacts about 200,000 tobacco retailers across the country.

Tobacco companies must now post signs that reveal the consequences of cigarette smoking.

This comes after a ruling in 2006 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

It ruled tobacco companies were guilty of breaking civil racketeering laws, marketing to children, and lying to the public about the dangers of smoking.

Thomas Larson with T-SET said tobacco use is one of the leading cause of preventable death in the state, killing 7,500 Oklahomans each year.

Larson said this new mandate is a step in the right direction.

"It’s admitting, for example, they’ve manipulated the level of nicotine in cigarettes to make cigarettes more addicting. It’s admitting that they mislead the public and that there is no benefit to smoking light or low tar cigarettes. So, some of those marketing tactics we saw over decades from Big Tobacco, this is setting the record straight," Larson said.

The corrective statements are required to be on packaging in stores until June of 2025.