WOONSOCKET, R.I. (Feb. 5, 2014)(CNN) — Want to pick up a pack of cigarettes with your prescription refill? A major U.S. pharmacy chain is breaking that habit.
CVS Caremark announced Wednesday that it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its CVS/pharmacy stores by October 1 of this year.
The retailer said the move makes CVS/pharmacy the first chain of national pharmacies to take tobacco products off the shelves.
“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,” Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Caremark, said in a statement. “Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose.”
CVS Caremark is the largest pharmacy in the United States based on total prescription revenue, according to the company. It operates more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores nationwide, in addition to more than 800 MinuteClinics, which are medical clinics within the pharmacy locations.
