AMA, Doctor Allies Push CVS Rivals To End Tobacco Sales
The American Medical Association and allied physician groups this week are exacting added pressure on pharmacies and others that sell health products to join CVS’ move to cease peddling cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Earlier this year, CVS grabbed international kudos that included acclaim from the White House for the giant pharmacy chain’s decision to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products in all of its more than 7,600 stores by October 1, according to its parent company, CVS/Caremark (CVS).
Public health advocates said CVS’ move was particularly notable given its drugstores would be sacrificing $2 billion in annual sales for public health and future growth.
Now, the largest doctor group in the U.S. and affiliated state and national medical societies are voicing a more unified chorus against retail sales of tobacco products at the AMA’s annual policy-making House of Delegates meeting that runs through Tuesday in Chicago.
Several doctor groups said Sunday that they want the AMA to push pharmacies and “providers of health services and products” to stop-selling cigarettes and tobacco products or work to pressure them to limit sales of such products. An AMA reference committee Sunday considered two resolutions urging the organization to step up the pressure on pharmacies and other retailers.
The American College of Cardiology, for example, said even limiting tobacco has led to its reduced use.
“We urge retailers that sell health related products to follow the example set by CVS Caremark CVS +0.38% and discontinue the sale of all tobacco products,” said Dr. L. Samuel Wann, an AMA delegate representing the American College of Cardiology. “Selling both prescription medicines and cigarettes in the same store is hypocritical. Large pharmacy chains that continue to sell cigarettes appear irresponsible to society. The ACC supports all possible action to reduce tobacco access and use, especially when it comes to our nation’s youth.”
The resolutions before the AMA didn’t name retailers specifically. CVS rivals Wal-Mart (WMT) and Walgreen WAG -0.75% (WAG) continue to sell tobacco products.
The AMA reference committee ultimately reaffirmed the organization’s existing policy which opposes “the sale of tobacco at any facility where health services are provided.”
The AMA’s annual House of Delegates’ meeting serves as more of a bully pulpit for health issues than anything.
“The power of the AMA is in its role as a single umbrella organization that covers all physicians, across specialty, geography, practice type or career stage,” Dr. Robert Wah, the incoming AMA president, said in a statement at the meeting’s open. “We have the ability to convene all the parties that need to come to the table to work on solutions to the challenges physicians face today. It’s the bringing together of different perspectives that makes the organization stronger.”
