Washington Post: "Why CVS thinks it can win big by ending cigarette sales"
Don't mistake this for altruism... this is forward thinking, and getting ahead of the trend, in order to milk some good PR out of it.
They're losing 2.4% of their gross revenue and 3% of their profit, in exchange for lots of good press, and avoiding a lot of hassle.
Walgreens is apparently "considering dropping tobacco products" as well.
Mark my words, the next target of the tobacco lawsuit industry will be retailers (just like the gun lawsuit industry has gone after gun stores). Never mind what will happen to tobacco producers and sellers if Obamacare proceeds.
Dropping tobacco means, lower insurance and legal bills, fewer hassles from state regulators, and less risk in general.
The smoking population in america is now below 20% (2013 estimate is 19% of adults). Unless a store is a "first choice" retailer for tobacco products, or can sell them at a large markup (gas stations are both for example) it no longer makes sense to sell tobacco products.
