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  • CVS Corporation Plans To Stop Selling Tobacco Products

    The habit of smoking is becoming a big epidemic in America, where many teens are pushed into smoking by peer pressure, as well as adults who are pressured into smoking for stress relief. With this in mind, one corporation and its stores (CVS) have taken this into account and will soon cease selling tobacco products to the public.

    According to The New York Times, CVS/Cakemark, hailed as America’s “largest drug store chain in overall sales,” announced today that it will be stopping all cigarette (and other tobacco product) purchases by Wednesday, October 1st. The reason for this change is help promote the company’s image of health awareness, along with being more of a “health care provider” than a “largely retail business.”

    This decision by the CVS/Caremark company did not come lightly, and according to figures discussed in The New York Times‘ article, this decision to eliminate the purchasing of tobacco products will cost two-million dollars from the tobacco-smoking community.

    Larry J. Merlo, Chief Executive Officer of CVS, offered the following statement pertaining to the company’s decision to end tobacco sales:

    “We have about 26,000 pharmacists and nurse practitioners helping patients manage chronic problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease, all of which are linked to smoking. We came to the decision that cigarettes and providing health care just don’t go together in the same setting.”

    Earlier today, CVS announced on their Twitter account that they are taking a stand on smoking, and they also provided a statistical graphic showing how many deaths are linked to smoking each other.

    Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, released a statement today backing Merlo’s decision, stating “Today’s CVS/Caremark announcement helps bring our country closer to achieving a tobacco-free generation. I hope others will follow their lead in this important step to curtail tobacco use.”

    With this decision from CVS/Caremark, there has been some opposition to the company’s choice to go tobacco free. Nik Modi, an Investment Analyst for RBC Capital Markets who follows tobacco stocks said that he “doubted CVS’s move would have a major impact on tobacco sales, noting that roughly three-quarters of cigarette sales occur in convenience stores.”

    Will other pharmacy stores follow CVS/Caremark’s example and cease selling tobacco products? Only time will tell.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • CVS To Stop Selling All Tobacco Products

    CVS To Stop Selling All Tobacco Products

    The luxury of being able to purchase your cigarettes, while picking up your prescriptions, will soon come to an end. CVS Caremark made an announcement, on Wednesday, stating that, as of October 1, 2014, they will no longer be selling cigarettes or any other tobacco product at their 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores.

    The decision to end tobacco sales is monumental, as they will be the first national pharmacy chain to do so. Currently, CVS is the second largest national pharmacy chain, next only to Walgreen Co. The final decision was not made lightly, and comes from years of pressure from health care organizations and other medical providers to remove tobacco products from the store.

    “Ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health,” Larry J. Merlo, the president and CEO of CVS Caremark, said in a statement. “Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose.”

    The move came, in part, to establish a stronger position as a health care provider. However, by doing this, CVS will be giving up approximately $2 billion in revenue from tobacco purchasers. This number is equivalent to an estimated 1.6 percent of the revenue in 2012.

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    CVS is the first large retailer to forbid tobacco sales since Target made their announcement to stop selling tobacco products in 1996. CVS is receiving positive feedback from those in the healthcare industry, and is being looked at as a role model for other large retailers.

    “This is an important, bold public health decision by a major retail pharmacy to act on the long understood reality that blending providing health care and providing cigarettes just doesn’t match,” said Dr. Richard Wender, the chief cancer control officer at the American Cancer Society.

    To fill the void of the tobacco sales, CVS plans to launch a smoking cessation program in the Spring that will offer information and treatments for those smokers who are trying to quit.

    “As a leader of the health care community focused on improving health outcomes, we are pledging to help millions of Americans quit smoking,” said Merlo. “In addition to removing cigarettes and tobacco products for sale, we will undertake a robust national smoking cessation program.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons, Twitter