America’s largest pharmacy chain, CVS Pharmacy, has announced that they will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products in their pharmacies. This move was made because CVS Pharmacy decided that selling tobacco products, such as cigarettes, does not go along with their goal of keeping their customers healthy. CVS is seeking to make America healthier and they don’t believe that they can do that while selling cigarettes.
CVS’s decision to not sell cigarettes and other tobacco products has gained a lot of press in recent days. People are admiring the bold move saying that it never really made sense for a pharmacy to be selling something as harmful as tobacco products. Even President Barack Obama praised CVS for their support in his mission to make America safer and healthier. When asked about it, he said that it was a great move in helping reduce the number of deaths from illnesses related to tobacco products in America.
There’s little doubt that CVS Pharmacy has made a great moral decision to stop selling tobacco products, but how will this decision effect them economically? CVS says that they are expecting to lose a massive 2 billion dollars from this choice. $1.5 billion of that will be from the actual sales of tobacco, and the other $500 million will be from the foods and other items that smokers usually buy along with their tobacco products.
It’s clear that CVS has taken an economical hit, but I believe they are making the right choice. They are making a decision because they think it’s what’s best for their customers health. That type of compassion isn’t shown very often from such a large corporation.