The nation’s three largest tobacco companies have gone to court in a bid to block New York City from requiring retailers to post graphic images of smoking-related health problems wherever cigarettes are sold.

Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard – along with groups representing convenience stores and gas stations – claim the requirement violates their First Amendment rights.

The posters, distributed to about 11,500 tobacco-sellers throughout the city, include images of rotting teeth and x-rays of damaged brains and lungs. Some retailers complain that customers are turned off by the pictures and leave without making any purchases.

“The mandated placement of the signs ensures that every customer, including the majority who are shopping for food, is forced to look at unappetizing images of diseased body parts,” say lawyers representing the tobacco industry.

A statement from the New York City Health Department counters, noting “Point-of-purchase warnings are one of the best tools we have to keep the next generation of New Yorkers from becoming addicted. By trying to suppress this educational campaign, the tobacco industry is signaling its desire to keep kids in the dark.”

Massachusetts officials, who are considering a similar approach, will be watching the New York case closely.