Retailers urged to follow CVS on tobacco ban

PROVIDENCE – Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin joined attorneys general from 27 others states and territories in urging five large, national retailers with pharmacies – Rite-Aid, Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger and Safeway – to follow the example set by CVS Caremark Corp. and cease selling tobacco products at stores throughout the United States.
In a March 14 letter sent to the retail giants, the attorneys general wrote: “There is a contradiction having these dangerous and devastating tobacco products on the shelves of a retail chain that services health care needs. The availability of such products in a retail store that also serves as a pharmacy normalizes tobacco use.”
The letter continued: “The normalization and easy availability of tobacco products represent a significant threat to youth, who are particularly susceptible to social and environmental encouragement to use tobacco.”
In a separate letter to CVS, Kilmartin and fellow attorneys general commended the company for being the first national pharmacy chain to prioritize public health by choosing to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products.

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