You better not get used to picking up a pack of cigarettes during your speedy jaunt to CVS. As of October 1st of this year, CVS/pharmacy store will stop selling tobacco products altogether.

This marks the very first pharmacy chain to remove tobacco from their product line.

7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores will be missing tobacco products lining their shelves before the end of the year. Why does the largest pharmacy chain in the world wish to take such a profitable item away for good?

“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,” Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Caremark, said in a statement. “Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose.”

President Obama even praised the decision, saying it’s “ultimately saving lives.”

“As one of the largest retailers and pharmacies in America, CVS Caremark sets a powerful example, and today’s decision will help advance my administration’s efforts to reduce tobacco-related deaths, cancer, and heart disease, as well as bring down health care costs — ultimately saving lives and protecting untold numbers of families from pain and heartbreak for years to come,” Obama said in a statement Wednesday.

Many Twitter users including the American Medical Association took to Twitter to express their support for the newly announced decision.

We applaud CVS Caremark for their decision to end the sale of tobacco products and putting public health ahead of their bottom line.

— AMA (@AmerMedicalAssn) February 5, 2014

I applaud @CVS_Extra on their decision to discontinue to sale of tobacco products.-MRE http://t.co/XxCAyJ7HBG

— ChicagosMayor (@ChicagosMayor) February 5, 2014

BREAKING: @CVS_Extra will stop selling #tobacco products in its >7,600 stores. A courageous decision http://t.co/1lbPOcqKv7 #CVSquits

— TobaccoFreeKids (@TobaccoFreeKids) February 5, 2014

It looks like fellow pharmacy chain Walgreens won’t be ridding their stores of tobacco products just yet. Instead the chain has decided to take a slightly different approach to the trending issue while keeping the consumer’s best interest in mind.

“We will continue to evaluate the choice of products our customers want, while also helping to educate them and providing smoking cessation products and alternatives that help to reduce the demand for tobacco products.”

Has CVS sparked the start of tobacco-free chains and even more smoke bans?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3RVxda74os

Image Via YouTube