Disclosure: I am a CVS ambassador blogger selected by CVS to represent their brand. All opinions about CVS/pharmacy are my own.
CVS/pharmacy announced this morning that they will stop selling cigarettes and tobacco in their stores to further align their mission for putting people on a path to better health. From the press release:
At CVS Caremark, our corporate mission is focused on helping put people on a path to better health. One of the ways we can bring this vision to life in a meaningful way is by helping our customers, employees and patients live tobacco-free lives. This morning, CVS Caremark announced we will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at our more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores by October 1, 2014.
Now more than ever, pharmacies are on the front lines of health care, becoming more involved in chronic disease management to help patients with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. All of these conditions are made worse by smoking, which is the leading cause of premature disease and death in the U.S., with more than 480,000 deaths annually. Because of this, this is the right thing for us to do and something we need to do for our customers.
Our decision to stop selling tobacco products is consistent with the positions taken by the American Medical Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and American Pharmacists Association that have all publicly opposed tobacco sales in retail outlets with pharmacies. There is evidence that reducing the availability of cigarettes reduces smoking rates, and research shows that seven out of ten smokers say they want to quit, so we want to help them do so.
In addition to removing cigarettes and tobacco products for sale, this Spring CVS Caremark will also be launching a national smoking cessation program with the goal of helping millions of Americans quit smoking. We will have more details to share about what this program entails in the coming months.
Disclosure: I am a CVS ambassador blogger selected by CVS to represent their brand. All opinions about CVS/pharmacy are my own.
NFriday says
Hi- I am glad that they are doing this. I don’t know how much of an effect it will have though. It might actually be good PR for them, and I am sure they will pick up some new customers because of this. It would be nice if Walgreens did this too.
dolrskolr says
I wish I could believe these very profitable businesses were doing things like this truly for the benefit of their customers … but I don’t. There’s an underlying reason and it’s not to assist in the betterment of our health, IMO. And, just cigarettes? Why not alcohol, diet pills, fattening foods, and all manner of unhealthy products. The more I think about this (strictly PR)move, the more I go {ugh}.
Edited to add: HA! Thought so. Fine, so they want to redefine how they make money … great. Just don’t make it that it’s all for the customer’s wellbeing. I call hogwash. Read the rest of the article.
https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304851104579363520905849600?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304851104579363520905849600.html
From Wall Street Journal “But CVS is counting on the strategy to give it a competitive edge over rival pharmacies in forging partnerships with hospitals, insurers and physician groups. These types of alliances are critical to drugstores like CVS and Walgreen Co. WAG +2.37% as they redefine themselves amid a downturn in prescription-drug sales.”