CVS kicks tobacco
Drugstore chain stops selling tobacco despite $2 billion hit to annual sales
CVS Caremark, a drugstore chain with more than 7,600 retail locations, plans to stop selling all tobacco products by Oct. 1, a decision that will cost the company about $2 billion in annual sales.
Second only to Walgreen Co. in number of retail locations, CVS will become the first national pharmacy company to cease tobacco sales, according to the Los Angeles Times. Larry J. Merlo, the chain’s president and chief executive officer, explained that since CVS has been increasingly providing medical care via its pharmacists and opening urgent-care clinics at its retail locations, “the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose.”
But don’t expect Walgreen Co. to follow suit. In 2009, the company unsuccessfully went to court to stop San Francisco from imposing a ban on tobacco sales in pharmacies.
More Health » The Pulse
The high cost of chemicals
U.S. spends an estimated $3 billion in health care related to BPA.
Published on 02.13.14
Bionic prosthetics on horizon?
A Danish amputee is able to feel the weight and stiffness of objects with a robo-hand.
Published on 02.13.14
Obesity sets in early
Study suggests that a propensity for lifelong obesity is established early in life.
Published on 02.06.14
A bloody breakthrough
Stem cell researchers in Japan tout a ‘major scientific discovery.’
Published on 02.06.14
ACA gains steam in North State
New figures released for Affordable Care Act sign-ups in North State.
Published on 02.06.14