A billboard recently erected on the Eisenhower Expressway wants Chicagoans to put down one of their favorite foods.
The sign reads "Hot Dogs Cause Butt Cancer," then clarifies that "processed meats increase colorectal cancer risk."
WGN-TV reports that the billboard was placed by a group called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), and that they've scattered similar signage in Indianapolis and Miami.
The billboard can be found along the westbound Eisenhower Expressway between the Kostner and Cicero exits, Fox Chicago reports.
In a release on their website, PCRM points to data suggesting that Illinois men are among the most likely to contract colorectal cancer, and that Illinois ranks sixth in the nation for incidence rates of the disease.
The Illinois sign is the only one to feature the phrase "butt cancer," in response to a statistic from a recent survey that found 39 percent of Americans don't know what the colon is, according to the PCRM release.
The billboard has already drawn the ire of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, a division of the American Meat Institute, which slammed the organization as a "pseudo-medical animal rights group" and suggested they are furthering a pro-vegan agenda under the guise of a medical awareness campaign, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Indianapolis billboard says "hot dogs can wreck your health," and in Miami the group posted a sign reading: "hot dogs can take you out of the game," according to WGN.
The American Cancer Society has reported evidence that nitrates found in highly-processed meats could increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 50 percent over 10 years of heavy consumption (equivalent to roughly 2-3 hot dogs per week for men and 1-2 hot dogs per week for women).