Tobacco companies and trade groups filed a lawsuit in New York on Thursday to try and keep certain parts of a law passed by Bloomberg prohibiting the use of coupons and other discounts to lower the state price of $10.50 per cigarette pack, the Associated Press reported.
The law was passed by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg this past November, setting the minimum price per cigarette pack at $10.50 in hopes that high-pricing would lead people to drop the habit and keep others from picking it up, according to the AP.
The lawsuit filed on Thursday targets the part of the law prohibiting coupons or discounts to lower the price and also applies to other forms of tobacco, the AP reported.
According to major tobacco companies like Lorillard, R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris USA, who filed the lawsuit, the section restricting discounts and coupons is a violation of free speech, according to the AP.
"The ban on coupons and promotional price discounts raise serious federal and state constitutional questions while also being pre-empted by federal and state laws," Thomas Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, said in a statement, according to the AP.
The lawsuit does not touch on other major sections of the law, like the bump in age to 21 from 18 as the legal age to purchase cigarettes, the AP reported. Since the law was implemented, New York City cigarettes have become the priciest in the entire country.
State courts have previously stuck with laws requiring minimum cigarette prices, but the lawsuit filed on Thursday does not seek to changes the minimum price required by law, and only seeks to strike down the section prohibiting coupons or deals.
Other state cases which have upheld price requirements did not prohibit coupons and discounts, and Briant hopes New York's legal standards will give the challenge a "better footing," the AP reported.
