SF proposes ban on selling cigs in pharmacy

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That is a good thing.
 
It's definitely a good thing, but not so great for the business... I'm sure they'll lose a lot of money, and the remaining stores that do sell cigs will gain a lot of money from this. Not that I care. I still think it's a great idea.
 
"Smokers won't stop but will be driven to a black market run by smugglers, he says."


lol...I'm sure that wouldn't stop ANYONE from smoking. ;)
 
Cigarettes have no place in a Walgreens or any other pharmacy establishment. I can't wait until Walgreens stops selling them.

It's bad enough I have to serve *****s in my pharmacy drive through smoking in their car with their children in the back seat.
 
"Smokers won't stop but will be driven to a black market run by smugglers, he says."


lol...I'm sure that wouldn't stop ANYONE from smoking. ;)

:laugh: That one made me laugh too!
 
Let's hope they ban candy bars, sodas, potato chips and the like since they all contribute to obesity-related diseases which has surpassed smoking as the #1 preventable cause of death.
 
I'm always for health initiatives like this to protect the public from the harm of cigarettes and cancer. My concern is with regards to the application of this law- that it won't be applied equally to different types of pharmacies. Independent pharmacies will be disproportionately affected, versus larger pharmacies that may be exempt. (I think Supermarket pharmacies are still allowed to sell.) How could you say that Walmart (or substitute another superstore) should be allowed to sell, whereas a Walgreens or CVS (again, substitute your favorite pharmacies PRN) can not sell? It really comes down to: "what constitutes a pharmacy?" Clearly this doesn't mean the pharmacy shelves, so why not apply it equally to all front-ends? (or to none- which I'm not in favor of)
 
Ciggies don't have any place in a pharmacy. I don't really care if Wal-Mart is still allowed to sell them. They only sell them in the front of the store. Though I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of sympathy for CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc over their lost sales of tobacco products.

I'm always for health initiatives like this to protect the public from the harm of cigarettes and cancer. My concern is with regards to the application of this law- that it won't be applied equally to different types of pharmacies. Independent pharmacies will be disproportionately affected, versus larger pharmacies that may be exempt. (I think Supermarket pharmacies are still allowed to sell.) How could you say that Walmart (or substitute another superstore) should be allowed to sell, whereas a Walgreens or CVS (again, substitute your favorite pharmacies PRN) can not sell? It really comes down to: "what constitutes a pharmacy?" Clearly this doesn't mean the pharmacy shelves, so why not apply it equally to all front-ends? (or to none- which I'm not in favor of)
 
I'm always for health initiatives like this to protect the public from the harm of cigarettes and cancer. My concern is with regards to the application of this law- that it won't be applied equally to different types of pharmacies. Independent pharmacies will be disproportionately affected, versus larger pharmacies that may be exempt. (I think Supermarket pharmacies are still allowed to sell.) How could you say that Walmart (or substitute another superstore) should be allowed to sell, whereas a Walgreens or CVS (again, substitute your favorite pharmacies PRN) can not sell? It really comes down to: "what constitutes a pharmacy?" Clearly this doesn't mean the pharmacy shelves, so why not apply it equally to all front-ends? (or to none- which I'm not in favor of)

I remember bringing up this is exact point in my ethics class a few years ago when we were having the same debate. What's the issue? The fact that at one place the cigs are 100 feet away from the pharmacy, where at another they're 200 feet away? Last I checked, it'll still say Walmart at the top of the receipt...whether you're picking up a Rx for Lipitor or paying for a pack of Marlboro's at the front.

But how's this for a thought...put a sign at the front counter encouraging them to speak to their pharmacist about ways to quit?
 
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Ciggies don't have any place in a pharmacy. I don't really care if Wal-Mart is still allowed to sell them. They only sell them in the front of the store. Though I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of sympathy for CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc over their lost sales of tobacco products.

You're right, it is a perception/image issue.

Who can still remember (it wasn't that long ago) when you wanted a bottle of vodka, you'd head to...Walgreens!
 
I remember bringing up this is exact point in my ethics class a few years ago when we were having the same debate. What's the issue? The fact that at one place the cigs are 100 feet away from the pharmacy, where at another they're 200 feet away? Last I checked, it'll still say Walmart at the top of the receipt...whether you're picking up a Rx for Lipitor or paying for a pack of Marlboro's at the front.

But how's this for a thought...put a sign at the front counter encouraging them to speak to their pharmacist about ways to quit?

I agree the poster who says that, "cigs have no place in the pharmacy", but remember, the first steps in a quitting protocol reside with the patient. If they can't find cigs in a Walgreens, the customer will just go to a Costco pharmacy or a Walmart pharmacy instead, or a gas station. It just hurts the good clerks working at pharmacies who will suffer the most, by draining revenue away, in an unequal manner. The pharmacy starts from the pharmacist counter. The rest is a store.

It's always hard to create public health laws intended to benefit the population, but do it in a significant and equal manner. No one will quit smoking because they cannot find cigarettes at CVS, Walgreens, their Independent Pharmacy, etc... It sounds like they have good intentions, but it's a pilot program that tampers with the profits of only specific businesses. I agree with ya, Spiriva, that the best thing they could do is to come up with innovative ways to get folks to quit- have quitting brochures and offer consultation. That's the job of the pharmacy. Making sales is the job of a storefront.

Unless you're going to make a law that says, "no sales of cigarettes in a store containing a pharmacy", then I really don't see how this rule helps. It only targets a few types of pharmacies! Wouldn't a rule which encompasses each type of pharmacy in the city better address the ethical/professional dilemma? I think it would be a little more productive.

When Mayor Bloomberg and the NYCDOH instituted their Public Health law restricting smoking in restaurants, they didn't leave out the chain restaurants. They didn't leave out the hole-in-the-wall restaurants. They made a rule to encompass all restaurants. It worked well.
 
Cigarettes have been banned from drugstores where I live since 1995. I like it, but more experienced retailers than me have said it's driven some small stores out of business.

It was stupid, selling people their Ventolin inhalers in the back, and watching them buy their smokes at the front cash.

Let's hope they ban candy bars, sodas, potato chips and the like since they all contribute to obesity-related diseases which has surpassed smoking as the #1 preventable cause of death.
Good point.....
 
Cigarettes have been banned from drugstores where I live since 1995. I like it, but more experienced retailers than me have said it's driven some small stores out of business.

You like it on an ethical level, right? The possible hypocrisy of dispensing albuterol while the patient just picks up cigs at the front of the store. And that you're not working for a pharmacy that sells cigs... Do you believe that smoking rates have actually gone down because of this? We all know, based on the intensity of a cigarette addiction, that they've found other stores. That a behavioral and physical addiction will not suddenly disappear because a few Independent pharmacies have disappeared. Can any analysis of the program be cited to show declines in smoking rates? Isn't that the goal... It just sounds more like an attempt to do right by professional morals than a practical health initiative. I'd rather choose both. The SF program is too faulty.

Independent pharmacies suffer disproportionately. Whether you work in one or not, as a whole, it has the affect of detracting from the profession's autonomy of entrepreneurship and eliminates fair competition. I would hate to see Independent pharmacies being a casualty of a program that does not work, just because a few folks feel better about their workplaces, without any real results on the actual problem. At least your area seems to do it across the board, which is a little more equitable- maybe even more efficacious/successful in that regard. Remember, this is a law that's going to be written into the public health code. Not the code of professional ethics in the pharmacy profession (although I would agree that it's an unwritten one for every health professional).
 
If people want to smoke cigs, they will find cigs, whether that be at the pharmacy or at the gas station. I think its more of a political thing and its not going to affect smoking rates.
 
I'm willing to bet that fewer pharmacy personnel will be smoking, because the convenience factor will be affected. I found it strange that pharmacy employees who smoked were being charged more for health insurance when Wags/CVS/Rite Aid sell cigarettes. That's double-dipping at its finest!
 
1. It seems to me that this could be an equal protection issue if all stores containing pharmacies are not affected.

2. I've never sold tobacco products at the pharmacy counter at Walgreens. They had to go up front, at least at the stores I worked for. At Kroger we didn't ring up tobacoo or alcohol in the pharmacy. Why should Kroger (a supermarket pharmacy) be allowed to keep their tobacoo products while Walgreens isn't? The entire front end operation of Walgreens has nothing to do with pharmacy anyway.
 
The cigarette ban where I live applies to all retailers that have a pharmacy in them. So supermarkets with a pharmacy in back can't sell smokes.

I don't know how much of an impact this ban has had, but studies have shown that smoking bans lower smoking rates, and for me this ban is part of the overall anti-smoking effort. And when the stores I worked in sold smokes, it made me feel worse about my profession.

Do we want to be bolstering our profits by selling cancer sticks? True, junk food is also a health issue, but junk food would be more of a habit than an addiction (IMO).
 
The cigarette ban where I live applies to all retailers that have a pharmacy in them. So supermarkets with a pharmacy in back can't sell smokes.

I don't know how much of an impact this ban has had, but studies have shown that smoking bans lower smoking rates, and for me this ban is part of the overall anti-smoking effort. And when the stores I worked in sold smokes, it made me feel worse about my profession.

Do we want to be bolstering our profits by selling cancer sticks? True, junk food is also a health issue, but junk food would be more of a habit than an addiction (IMO).

When I worked at a supermarket pharmacy, I would tell folks who have hyperlipidemia and previous MI, that the food in their basket won't help them, and lecture them on healthy eating. It's a good way to turn it into a positive in that you actually see what these folks are buying for themselves, and could make an intervention right there. After a while, some of 'em would come over when they shop just to seek my blessing.

Sounds like a better implementation of a cigarette ban in your area. Too bad SF can't model theirs after your municipality.
 
Banning cigarette sales from stores with pharmacies in them is short-sighted. By doing so, you just sent candidates for smoking cessation to the 7-11 down the street and you may never see them again until they come in a few years later to pick up their COPD meds.

Instead, why not move the cigarettes back to the pharmacy where pressure to quit can be applied with every purchase? In fact, ONLY allow pharmacies to sell them. Smokers are in need of immediate healthcare intervention not further marginalization.
 
I guess it is OK to sell alcohol as long as you ban cigs.
 
Stupid idea. Somebody wants to smoke? Until the government wants to ban the sale of tobacco then they should be able to buy cigs in any retail place that wants to carry them. Let the store management be the ones to determine if they want to carry them. As for me...people get one counseling on the dangers of smoking (like most of them haven't been told before)...if they want to ignore it and keep puffing, I'll happily take the buck profit we make from selling them a couple packs.
 
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