CVS announced today that by October, it will stop selling tobacco products in its stores to "strengthen its position as a healthcare provider." CVS is the first major chain pharmacy to take this step.
Full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-cvscaremark-cigarettes-idUSBREA140RP20140205
Do you think this will help or hurt CVS? Do you think more retailers should follow their lead? This is of course a free-market, nongovernmental response to a social issue- an idea often called "corporate consciousness," aka that corporations should take moral positions and use their businesses to set an example. Should more corporations take steps like this or should they focus on increasing their profits - as per their responsibilities to their shareholders - and leave things like smoking to individual choice? Why does anyone still smoke, or start smoking, anymore knowing how dangerous it is?
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Lego, Cav (the Lego brand name was derived from the Danish expression "leg godt" - play well - and lego also translates in Latin as "I study" or "I put together"...really, one of the world's most perfect words!)
I think that this will hurt CVS because all the people that use tobacco products will stop going to the store, causing them to lose money. There is a very large amount of tobacco users in the world. The health intention of CVS's action is good, but very bad for buisness.
I believe this will hurt CVS more then help them, because it won't help them gain any customers, but it will take away their customers looking to buy tobacco products.
I think this is a good step in the direction to "strengthen its position as a healthcare provider" but, i also think that CVS will see a drop in revenue due to the large numbers of smokers in America. Good idea... but there may be repercussions.
I think that this is a bad move on cvs's part because they will lose money from all the people that go there for tabacoo and medicine and they will just find another place to buy it.
I think this is more a loss to CVS more than a benefit because a lot of tobacco users will stop going to CVS. This means CVS will lose a lot of business. It is a good idea to get rid of the tobacco products, but they are going to lose business.
I think that it will strengthen there image with consumers but also at the same time hurt there sales. Tobacco products is a big industry. So by cutting the supply people will not go to CVS but find other pharmacy's where they can buy tobacco products.
I believe that this decision will hurt CVS because many tobacco users may no longer go there to shop. However, i believe this is a good step for them in general because it sets a positive role model and will encourage companies to do the same and people who are against smoking to go to their store.
I agree because CVS not only has the right to do that. Also because it would help cut down smoking in those specific areas that other people would loathe.
I don't think this will help CVS in any way because they're not only losing a lot of money but a lot of people that would go there specifically just to buy the Tobacco.
CVS's decision to stop selling tobacco products may harm their sales, but I think it is the right thing to do. From ending their sales of tobacco, they're making one less branch store sell the harmful cancer causing products. This is going to benefit other stores that will continue selling the products because now they can't go to CVS to buy a pack, but doesn't that mean they should continue their sales. More stores should follow CVS's decision to stop their tobacco sales because they'll lower the risks of people getting lung cancer because the tobacco products will be harder to attain.
I would agree with CVS's decision on the removal of tobacco from their shelves. I think with the amount of power CVS has as a healthcare center, other healthcare centers will do the same and create a domino effect. Yes, their will be a loss of profit from this decision, but the impact will be well worth it.
I think it is good that CVS has stopped selling tobacco at their store. It may cause a difference in business, but I don't think tobacco makes most percentage of business at CVS and really matters to the company. If people want to buy tobacco, they should just go to a tobacco shop.
From a business standpoint, I believe that this will be extremely detrimental to the CVS chain. The primary business of a business is to make money, and with this proposition they will be losing lots of it. However, from a moral standpoint, I applaud CVS for its decision. It is hypocritical for the to be promoting "wellness" and a healthy lifestyle when they sell such harmful substances. To me, this is admirable. Although I hope that other major drugstore chains will follow CVS's lead, I dont think anyone should be holding their breath. The monetary loss is too great for many other businesses to sacrifice.
It is entirely up to other drug stores to make the same decision as CVS did. In my opinion, CVS made the right decision to stop selling tobacco products. After all, it is called a drug store(as in proper medication), right? And most, if not all, Americans are starting to quit smoking.
-- Edited by chriscai43 on Friday 7th of February 2014 06:49:50 PM
I think it will ultimately hurt CVS because it will have a major impact on their sales. People will not stop smoking just because they don't sell cigarettes anymore because it is an addiction and there are many other stores that sell them. However if many other stores started to follow their lead, there might be a change in the amount of smokers since it will be harder to find the product and cigarette companies may shut down due to loss in sales.
It will definitely hurt CVS financially. I think that their decision will make a big impact on other tobacco providers. It won't necessarily make them stop selling tobacco but give them more profit. People will not stop smoking just cause CVS stops selling tobacco products. They will just find somewhere else to go.
I think that yes it is good that CVS has stopped the selling of tobacco, however, I think that this could hurt their business because they are going to lose customers that would usually go their to buy tobacco products. They want to make money and this would not help that matter.
Although less smokers will go to CVS, they will be supported by anti- or non-smokers. It is up to the retailers whether to continue to sell tobaccos for profit or not for public health since they are private businesses with personal rights. I do not agree that they have moral responsibilities to set examples for social issues, but they are free to do so. Their decision to stop selling tobacco will not stop smokers from smoking anyways. And I think people start and continue to smoke, despite knowing the dangers, out of curiosity, stress, or tendency to depend on something.
-- Edited by eaturolive on Friday 7th of February 2014 06:46:27 PM
It will hurt CVS more, because the loss of money from tobacco sales. Although they will be more trusted as a healthcare provider, it may end them costing more money. I do support their decision though, because CVS is a pharmacy and shouldn't usually sell things that can damage your health.
I believe that this decision will hurt CVS more than anything. I understand why they would want to do this and i completely respect their decision to do so. I do not believe other corporations should do this unless they are trying to promote good health. People all smoke for different reasons, the main one being stress, even though they realize the dangers. I understand why they use them but their are many other ways that people can relax and take care of their problems.
I think that there is absolutely no doubt that CVS will lose both customers and profit by carrying out this valiant deed, but I don't think it will always be that way. Smoking, although it is still common today, is much less common than it was several years ago, advertisements for cigarette use still existed. For the most part, (in our country, at least) I think that smoking is on its way out, so even though CVS may see some immediate repercussions right now, I believe that the company's losses won't be as severe in the future when smoking is almost non-existant (hopefully). In any case, I have the utmost respect for CVS for doing this, because at the end of the day, CVS IS a pharmacy first, and convenience store second, so I believe that them stopping the sale of cigarettes is completely justified and in all honesty, long overdue. I hope that more large pharmacy chains such as Walgreens and Savon follow in the footsteps of CVS.
This will majorly hurt CVS's business, it is known for being quick and easily assessable for customers, many of them smokers. This is not going to lower the amount of smokers at all because they will just go to other places to purchase their cigarettes, but it will hurt CVS's business. People who go in CVS to buy cigarettes often pick up a few more items while they are there and they are going to lose that profit. I respect their decision and believe it is the right one, even if it is going to hurt their profits. I hope more convenience stores follow their lead.
