Posted on 02/05/2014 5:01:07 AM PST by Red in Blue PA
CVS Caremark is kicking the habit of selling tobacco products at its more than 7,600 drugstores nationwide as it focuses more on providing health care.
The nation's second-largest drugstore chain said Wednesday that it will phase out cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco by Oct. 1, a move that will cost about $2 billion in annual revenue but won't affect its 2014 earnings forecast. CVS Caremark leaders say removing tobacco will help them grow the company's business of working with doctors, hospitals and other care providers to improve customers' health.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
This is about government control; nothing less. If the government truly was interested in the public health, suppressors would be mandatory for all shooters.
Once there are no smokers to eradicate, look for the government (followed by business) to go after caffeine.
And on. And on.
This will free up a lot of shelf space for marijuana products too!
Government control? I do not think this is an example of government control, unless this private company was offered tax breaks for halting the sale of tobacco products, or was threatened by the government with punitive action if they did not stop selling tobacco. I have seen no evidence of either.
CVS is perfectly within their rights to sell, or not sell, whatever [legal] products they wish to sell; and I am within my rights to choose somewhere else to shop when their “social correctness” irritates me.
Some ideologue has blown smoke up their corporate keester telling them it won’t hurt their bottom line. BS. It makes no difference about ‘intereacting with’, ‘working with’, or ‘colluding with’ doctors, hospitals or other organizations seems to be a hunky-dory-super-good-time-GI Joe thing.
The bottom line is patients will look at cost first, ease of getting prescriptions filled, and whether or not it takes a long time to get them filled. Getting rid of the tobacco products doesn’t seem to have any impact on these.
Forgot to ad in my OP, this is about business pandering to government initiatives. The CEO should be canned for this, as should any CEO who does this sort o thing.
Coca-Cola got on the obesity wagon with the govt and check their stock out for the past few years. This is a stock killer and CVS shareholders ought to take note!
Good point! It’s probably cheaper than putting an addition on each store...
;-)
See Post 5 for clarification.
This is about businesses pandering to government and their “initiatives”. Coca-Cola id the same thing with obesity an it killed their stock price. Any CEO who engages in this morality play out to be shown the door.
LOL, you got it!
True. I don’t think I’ve ever went into a drug store to get a pack of smokes. I doubt I would if I needed to. No telling how long they would have been setting on the shelve, because chances are, hardly anyone else goes to a pharmacy for smokes either.
I wonder if they are going to stop selling alcohol too? Here in my town, there are 3 CVS stores that sell the majority of alcohol in this town. Will they also go toward being healthy and stop alcohol sales? Probably not, they have to make a lot of money doing it.
Okay. I’ll buy that.
With any luck, CVS stock will follow the Coca-Cola route, CVS will see the error of their ways, and they will reverse the decision.
I've read the the gross retail profit margin on tobacco products is about 15% and net about 6% -- the gov't take on the transaction is much, much higher.
They probably found a more productive use for their shelf space.
And they sell the “good stuff”, too, I’ll bet.
What’s the word?
Thunderbird!
What’s the price?
... I have no idea, I haven’t bought a bottle of Thunderbird since I was about 16.
If it is in the interest of health concerns that they do this, then I assume they will also take measures to eliminate sale of abortifacient substances.
CVS alcohol prices are considerably cheaper than the liquor stores. The other alcohol competitors include WalMart, Sams Club, Kroger, Target and Marsh.
How many people die from the side effects of prescription drugs every year?
What about banning sugars? After all, a few people may become diabetic because they cannot control themselves.
An caffeine is not the healthiest product out there. Gotta stop that.
What about makeup for women? It is claimed that some cause cancer.
By the time we are done saving the world, CVS will have a total of 8 SKU’s.
What a pathetic excuse for a CEO.
Agreed. However, I did find it interesting that Obama had a prepared statement that came out within 10 minutes of the announcement. I think CVS caved to gov’t pressure.
The government didn’t force them to do this. It’s their choice. Should they be forced to sell them?
Ex smoker. Go ahead and smoke. I won’t share un filtered indoor airspace with you. Not because it’s dangerous but because it is no longer a nice smell to me. Before they banned smoking in Vegas casinos I was pleasantly surprised that there was almost no smoke smell. Why they named it I don’t understand.
If smoking is that dangerous tobacco products should be banned. But they won’t do that as it is a huge government cash cow. Hypocrites.
Btw. What does surpressors have to do with anything. Unless I’m hunting I wear plugs or head phones. It is every range around here’s cardinal rule. When I was a kid it wasn’t. But it is a good idea for all shooters.
I hear the numbers for prescription drugs addiction is very high.
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