Shoppers of the grocery chain Stop & Shop will no longer be able to buy a pack of smokes.
At least not there.
According to a Fox News report, the grocer announced this week that it plans to stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products at all of its 360 stores across the Northeast by Aug. 31 “as a part of the brand’s commitment to community wellness.”
“From our team of registered dietitians that serve our customers at no cost to our trained and trusted pharmacy associates, Stop & Shop aims to support the health and well-being of the neighborhoods we serve — and this exit from tobacco is one more way we’re accomplishing that goal,” Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid said in a statement.
Stop & Shop is a grocery store chain with more than 400 locations in New York, New England, and New Jersey.
The move is being lauded by many.
American Cancer Society CEO Karen Knudsen said this move marks “a step in the right direction toward ending Big Tobacco’s influence on kids,” though she said there is even more that “can be done to reduce the toll of tobacco in our communities.”
The grocer is the latest to join a growing list of companies that have already halted the sale of such products, including Walmart, which stopped selling in certain stores in 2022, and Target, which ended sales across all stores in 1996.
CVS has been tobacco-free since 2014. In 2019, the company said its decision resulted in 100 million fewer packs of cigarettes being sold in the first year alone.
The company also committed $50 million to deliver the first tobacco-free generation through its Be the First initiative.
HeraldPR CEO Juda Engelmayersaid it’s not a bad idea for Stop & Shop, as it “needs to stand out from competitors” in the grocery space.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pat Basu, a physician and former CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, said Stop & Shop’s decision was the “right move for public health and for their business.”