CVS Plans To End Cigarette Sales

04:45

February 05, 2014

A man enters a CVS drugstore February 5, 2014 in Washington, D.C. The second-largest U.S. drugstore chain says its 7,600 stores across the country will cease tobacco sales by October 1, 2014, despite the projected $2 billion loss the move will entail. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama, a former smoker, is praising CVS Caremark for its decision to stop selling tobacco products starting Oct. 1. The president said CVS is setting a "powerful example."

CVS is the country's second-largest pharmacy and the first to make such a move. It comes after pressure from public health advocates who have been calling on retailers to change how they sell and market tobacco.

Catherine Welch of Rhode Island Public Radio joins Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson with details.

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Guest

Catherine Welch, news director for Rhode Island Public Radio. She tweets @CWELCHRI.

This segment aired on February 5, 2014.