In a recent announcement, the American grocery store chain “Stop & Shop” revealed that all its stores will be removing tobacco products from their shelves by Saturday (August 31), rendering it the latest grocery store in the United States to halt cigarette sales.
This Massachusetts-based chain store made the announcement on Monday, emphasizing that the plan would be implemented in all of its 360 stores across states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
The retailer stated that this decision is part of its commitment to “community health.”
Gordon Reid, the President of Stop & Shop, stated in a press release, “As a grocery retailer, our responsibility extends far beyond our own shelves. We are dedicated to taking bold steps to help our employees, customers, and communities achieve better health outcomes.”
Apart from removing tobacco products from store shelves, Stop & Shop also organized two cigarette buyback events on Wednesday in the Boston area of Massachusetts and Staten Island in New York. The company mentioned that these locations were chosen due to higher smoking rates and associated health issues.
These events were held in partnership with the American Cancer Society and its affiliate advocacy organization, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
Stop & Shop is not the first store in the United States to discontinue the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products. According to reports from the Associated Press, Target stopped selling these products as early as 1996. Additionally, Wegmans Food Markets and CVS Health Corporation ceased tobacco sales in 2008 and 2014, respectively. In 2022, Walmart also announced the cessation of cigarette sales in certain stores.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that in the United States, smoking causes over 480,000 deaths annually, with approximately 90% of lung cancer deaths attributed to smoking.
Apart from health concerns, the complexities of the business itself might be a contributing factor persuading retailers to remove tobacco products from their shelves. Some establishments have expressed that selling cigarettes is burdensome due to regulatory restrictions and is not profitable.
In 2019, the federal government raised the minimum age for purchasing tobacco to 21. Some states have imposed additional restrictions, like in Massachusetts where retailers with pharmacies are prohibited from selling tobacco products.
Other retailers have also taken similar actions. Costco began phasing out tobacco products in 2016 but still offers them in some stores.
On the other hand, some retailers continue to sell tobacco products, including supermarket chains like Publix, the grocery giant Albertsons, and Kroger, the top-ranked grocery retailer in the United States in terms of revenue.