US Pharmacy chain CVS to stop cigarette sales at its 7,600 stores

CVS Caremark, the second largest US drugstore chain, will no longer sell cigarettes and other tobacco products at all its CVS/pharmacy stores by 1 October, the company announced yesterday.

According to the retailing behemoth, it would loose $2 billion in revenue annually due to its decision, a sizable sum amounting to just 1.6 per cent of the company's $125 billion average yearly haul.

"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," said Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS, in a statement. "Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose."

However, this was not just about public health. Already the decision had attracted heavy media coverage, which could help to offset the company's estimated revenue shortfall.

The move, which some might see as long overdue, could be a savvy publicity coup that built brand loyalty with 67 per cent of Americans who viewed smoking as either an extremely or a very serious problem for society.

CVS' announcement yesterday would end sale of tobacco products at the company's 7,600 stores, and according to industry experts other businesses might follow suit.

According to Helena Foulkes, CVS' pharmacy president, being in the wellness business, no longer went with tobacco.

She told USA Today, that the company really thought about this decision as it related to the future as a health company. She added it was good for the customers as also the company, in the long run.

According to Foulkes, CVS saw its future as an alternative to the doctor's office.

There were 26,000 pharmacists and nursing practitioners counselling customers about how they could control their high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Tobacco sales are banned in some cities in California and Massachusetts had banned tobacco sales at all pharmacies.

The American Pharmacists Association asked for a ban on sales in 2010 at pharmacies, including at grocery stores that had pharmacies, according to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA)  yesterday.

As the Affordable Care Act was implemented, it was important to help people stay healthy, Troy Brennan, the company's chief medical officer said.

According to Brennan, it was expensive to provide health care for all the people through the ACA. The company is set to announce a "very large" smoking cessation programme in the spring.