Health advocates applaud CVS for paving way in tobacco reform

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, recently applauded CVS Pharmacy stores for removing tobacco products from their stores and the positive results that have already stemmed from it.
The American Journal of Public Health published a study last month pointing to CVS Pharmacy stores' removal of tobacco products with overall sales of cigarettes throughout all retail settings.
"These newly published results make it increasingly untenable for responsible retailers — especially those that provide health care services — to continue selling tobacco products," Myers said. "We also urge parents and other consumers concerned about health to patronize retailers that don't sell tobacco products." 
CVS Pharmacy stores removed tobacco products from their inventories one year ago, and it has been found that those who purchased cigarettes only at CVS Pharmacy were 38 percent more likely to stop the practice of buying cigarettes. Consumers who bought three or more packs each month were over two times as likely to stop buying them completely. 
CVS Health helped drastically reduce the sales of tobacco products in 2016 with the launching of Be The First, a five-year $50 million initiative to create the first tobacco-free generation through tobacco control, advocacy and education. 
Eileen Howard Boone, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy at CVS Health and president of CVS Health Foundation, spoke about the work that the company is doing to promote healthy living. But it is clear that reformation still has far to go, with smoking still holding first place in preventable morbidity and mortality in the U.S., resulting in over 480,000 deaths each year.
"While smoking rates among children and adults have declined over the past decade, approximately 36.5 million adults still smoke and 3,200 people under age 18 smoke their first cigarette every day," Boone said.