USA attorneys have asked cigarettes to leave retail networks and pharmacies. Part 1

April 7, 2014

General attorneys of 28 American states and territories have directed letters in address of five big retail and pharmacy networks asking to stop sale of cigarettes and tobacco products. According to attorneys' opinion selling tobacco products near medicines and healthcare products shops contradict themselves and misinform buyers about smoking harm.

Letters from 28 general attorneys were received by Wal-Mart Stores, Walgreen Company, Rite Aid Corp, Kroger and Safeway. Wal-Mart Stores have pharmacy sections; Kroger and Safeway run pharmacy networks (Kroger has almost 2 thousand of them and are located inside super-markets of the Company), Walgreen Company is the biggest pharmacy network in USA (8678 pharmacies in 50 states), Rite Aid is the third biggest pharmacy network in USA (more than 4.6 thousand pharmacies).

Attorneys cite as an example decision made in February by one of the biggest retail and pharmacy networks in USA, CVS Caremark to refuse from October selling in their stores cigarettes and other tobacco products.

According to CVS Caremark's estimations with this refusal they will lose those 2 billion USD a year that brought sale of tobacco products, however, according to Company's opinion there is no place for these products in network of pharmacies of the Company that holds itself out as supplier of healthcare products. By the way, some American cities have already introduced ban on sale of tobacco products in pharmacies. So, from 2008 it is prohibited in San Francisco, Boston and some cities of Massachusetts State.