CVS, the nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain, announced Wednesday that it would stop selling all cigarettes and tobacco products nationwide by October, saying it is incompatible with the drugstore company taking on a bigger role as a health-care provider.
Public health experts hailed the decision as an unprecedented step and hopes it could pressure other retailers to follow suit.
“Today’s decision will help advance my Administration’s efforts to reduce tobacco-related deaths, cancer, and heart disease, as well as bring down healthcare costs,” President Obama said in a statement.
Florida’s State Surgeon General, Dr. John Armstrong, also applauded CVS’s bold decision, saying it will lead to better health.
“I want to congratulate CVS Caremark for today’s bold decision that will lead to better health,” he said in a statement. “Removing cigarettes from their more than 700 locations in Florida is welcome news for the families and communities of our state. I urge other retailers to follow suit and invest in the long term health of their customers and employees in Florida.”
Pulling cigarettes and other tobacco products is expected to cost CVS $2 billion a year in lost sales. Nonetheless, analysts say, the company will realize more than $2 billion in “reputational capital and kudos.”
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