More retail chains stop selling tobacco
In face of new proposals to ban the sale of cigarettes in drugstores, more retail chains are opting to stop selling these products.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed an unprecedented city ban on the sale of tobacco products, including cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco, in pharmacies. If the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approves the ban this month or early in June, it would take effect Oct. 1. Bills are pending in New Hampshire, Illinois, and Tennessee to ban pharmacies with walk-in clinics from selling tobacco, and a bill in New York would apply to all pharmacies. Even though these measures have not passed, many establishments have stopped selling these products. Wegmans, which has 70 stores in five states, took tobacco off its shelves in February, as did two smaller New York-based chains, Budwey's and DeCicco Family Markets. San Franciso-based Andronico's also quit in February, and some Shop Rite stores followed in March.
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