CVS Caremark is trying to help smokers quit. The store has decided to no longer sell cigarettes and other tobacco products at its more than 7,600 drugstores across the country.
CVS, the second largest drugstore chain in the country, announced on Wednesday that it will phase out all cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco by Oct. 1. The decision is expected to cost the chain about $2 billion in annual revenue. CVS Caremark officials say the decision is being done to focus more on customer's health, the Associated Press reports.
CVS has been trying to focus more on healthcare by adding clinics to their stores and expanding its health care focus over the past few years. They are trying to accommodate for the millions of Americans who are expected to gain health insurance due to federal regulations. CVS pharmacists already give flu shots and other immunizations and are trying to expand the kind of care they bring. Some pharmacies help people manage chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure and they also treat minor illnesses like sinus infections which are problems that are made worse by smoking.
"We've come to the conclusion that cigarettes have no place in a setting where health care is being delivered," CEO Larry Merlo told the Associated Press.
Tobacco products are often placed behind the counters at the front of CVS stores. The company did not say what will be placed there instead. The company did say that it may test certain items and will increase the number of products that help people quit smoking. CVS drugstores currently do not sell electronic cigarettes which heat a liquid nicotine and create a water vapor instead of smoke.
Pharmacists will also be trained in how to counsel people on how to quit smoking.
CVS is working with hospitals and doctors to help provide more patient care and officials say awkward situations have arisen since the store sells tobacco products.
"One of the first questions they ask us is, 'Well, if you're going to be part of the health care system, how can you continue to sell tobacco products?'" CVS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Troyen A. Brennan said. "There's really no good answer to that at all."
While it is doing away with tobacco products, the chain has no plans to get rid of alcohol as well.
"At this point, we're dealing with cigarettes, which are unalterably unhealthy for people and different from any other substance that people either drink or eat," Brennan said.
President Obama said the decision was a good move.
"As one of the largest retailers and pharmacies in America, CVS Caremark sets a powerful example, and today's decision will help advance my Administration's efforts to reduce tobacco-related deaths, cancer, and heart disease, as well as bring down health care costs - ultimately saving lives and protecting untold numbers of families from pain and heartbreak for years to come," the president said.
CVS is taking a step to curb tobacco-related deaths. According to the Food and Drug Administration, about 480,000 people die a year due to tobacco use.
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