Attorneys General Urge Major Retailers to Stop Selling Tobacco Products

By Tess Stynes 

Attorneys general in 28 states are asking five major U.S. retailers to stop selling tobacco products in stores that also have pharmacies, urging them to follow the example of CVS Caremark Corp., which unveiled plans to remove tobacco products from its stores last month.

The attorneys general have written to the chief executives of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walgreen Co., Rite Aid Corp., Safeway Inc. and Kroger Co., asking them to remove tobacco products from their shelves. They also praised CVS's decision to end tobacco sales in its stores.

CVS, the nation's second-largest pharmacy chain, is aiming to stop selling all cigarettes and tobacco products nationwide by October, and has said they have no place in a drugstore company that is trying to become more of a health-care provider.

The latest push to remove tobacco from retailers' shelves is being led by Ohio Attorney General Michael DeWine and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

"Pharmacies and drugstores, which increasingly market themselves as a source for community health care, send a mixed message by continuing to sell deadly tobacco products," Mr. Schneiderman said in a statement Monday.

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