CVS commended for ban of tobacco products
CVS Caremark should be highly commended for its leadership in making the bold and courageous announcement on Tuesday to stop selling tobacco products at its 7,600 pharmacies, 85 of which are located throughout Nevada.
The company’s decision comes on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. surgeon general’s report on smoking and health and the release of a new report on tobacco use. The new report found that smoking is even more hazardous and takes an even greater toll on the nation’s health than previously thought.
Smoking kills 480,000 Americans annually, sickens millions more and costs the nation in excess of $289 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity every year. Furthermore, exposure to secondhand smoke is deadly, taking the lives of 2.5 million nonsmoking Americans during the past 50 years. In Nevada, lung cancer is the leading cancer killer year over year, and 90 percent of those cases are the result of tobacco use.
CVS Caremark’s historic decision to stop selling tobacco is a giant step in the right direction to creating a healthier, smoke-free environment and protecting future generations from tobacco-related deaths and illness. We encourage all other pharmacies and retail health care companies to follow CVS Caremark’s example.
Allison Newlon Moser, President, Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition
www.tobaccofreenv.com