On February 5, 2014, CVS Caremark announced that it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its more than 7,600 stores across the nation by October 1, 2014. The move by CVS is slated to cost the company about $2 billion a year in revenue or approximately 3% of overall sales. Pitt Pharmacy graduate (’78), Pitt trustee, and CVS Caremark CEO and President, Larry J. Merlo called the sale of tobacco products “inconsistent” with the store’s purpose and said that “ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health”.
The decision to stop selling tobacco products was triggered by the changes in the pharmacy industry due to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Merlo stated, “As the delivery of health care evolves with an emphasis on better health outcomes, reducing chronic disease, and controlling costs, CVS Caremark is playing an expanded role in providing care through our pharmacists and nurse practitioners. The significant action we’re taking today by removing tobacco products from our retail shelves further distinguishes us in how we are serving our patients, clients, and health care providers and better positions us for continued growth in the evolving health care marketplace.”
In addition to removing tobacco products from their stores, CVS Caremark is also launching a nation-wide smoking-cessation program in the spring. The program will offer personal, one-on-one counseling with a nurse practitioner, nicotine assessments, individualized cessation plans based on personal needs and goals, ongoing coaching and support, nicotine-replacement recommendations or prescriptions, visit summaries sent to individual’s primary care providers, and comprehensive online resources.
Merlo is a 1978 graduate of the School of Pharmacy. He is also a member of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees, a University of Pittsburgh 225th anniversary medallion recipient, a Distinguished Alumnus award winner in 2010, and a Legacy Laureate in 2008.
On February 5, 2014, CVS Caremark announced that it will stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its more than 7,600 stores across the nation by October 1, 2014. The move by CVS is slated to cost the company about $2 billion a year in revenue or approximately 3% of overall sales. Pitt Pharmacy graduate (’78), Pitt trustee, and CVS Caremark CEO and President, Larry J. Merlo called the sale of tobacco products “inconsistent” with the store’s purpose and said that “ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health”.
The decision to stop selling tobacco products was triggered by the changes in the pharmacy industry due to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Merlo stated, “As the delivery of health care evolves with an emphasis on better health outcomes, reducing chronic disease, and controlling costs, CVS Caremark is playing an expanded role in providing care through our pharmacists and nurse practitioners. The significant action we’re taking today by removing tobacco products from our retail shelves further distinguishes us in how we are serving our patients, clients, and health care providers and better positions us for continued growth in the evolving health care marketplace.”
In addition to removing tobacco products from their stores, CVS Caremark is also launching a nation-wide smoking-cessation program in the spring. The program will offer personal, one-on-one counseling with a nurse practitioner, nicotine assessments, individualized cessation plans based on personal needs and goals, ongoing coaching and support, nicotine-replacement recommendations or prescriptions, visit summaries sent to individual’s primary care providers, and comprehensive online resources.
Merlo is a 1978 graduate of the School of Pharmacy. He is also a member of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees, a University of Pittsburgh 225th anniversary medallion recipient, a Distinguished Alumnus award winner in 2010, and a Legacy Laureate in 2008.
