Walgreen Co. operates 13 stores in Clark County. Rite-Aid has two Clark County stores.
The decision by CVS Caremark on Wednesday to halt tobacco sales at its 7,600 U.S. drugstores by Oct. 1 ratchets up pressure on its larger rival, Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co., to follow suit.
CVS, the nation’s No. 2 drugstore chain, said it would forgo $2 billion in annual sales by dropping sales of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products, reflecting its continued shift toward being more of a health care provider than simply a storefront that disburses prescription drugs.
Retail pharmacies such as CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens are seeking to play a larger role in the U.S. by becoming more comprehensive health care providers with in-store clinics, vaccinations and other services. They’re trying to capture a surge of newly insured Americans who are gaining coverage through the health care overhaul law, which is expected to expand insurance to 11 million to 13 million by year’s end.
The initiative from CVS, the first major pharmacy to undertake such a ban, puts the bullseye on the back of Walgreen, the nation’s largest pharmacy chain, which has faced withering attacks from health and advocacy groups for years surrounding its policy of selling tobacco products.