Butt out, Mayor Bloomberg!
The head of the 14,000-member Bodega Association of the United States vowed to launch a campaign to kill Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to ban the display of tobacco products in retail stores.
“When will it end? Today it’s cigarettes. Tomorrow it’s soda. The next day it’s chips. The following day it’s sugar, and then ice cream,” said association president Ramon Murphy.
“Before you know it, there are no bodegas left.”
Should the City Council approve Hizzoner’s anti-smoking legislation, it’s likely headed to court. Merchants believe it’s unconstitutional.
“It certainly violates first- amendment rights under commercial speech,” said National Association of Tobacco Outlets executive director Thomas Briant.
But a city Law Department spokeswoman insisted the proposed rules to curb smoking are “consistent with the First Amendment.”
City Comptroller and mayoral candidate John Liu slammed Bloomberg’s idea.
“This scheme is another example of Michael Bloomberg telling store owners how they must run their businesses, when, in fact, they just want him to butt out,” Liu said.