The pharmacy formerly known as CVS Caremark (CVS) has decided to change its name and stop selling tobacco a month early.
CVS announced in February that it planned to stop selling tobacco in October. However, all 7,700 retail locations stopped doing so as of midnight on Tuesday. Now the only tobacco-related products being carried in the company’s stores are ones to help people quit smoking. The decision to stop selling tobacco products is coupled with a new corporate name, CVS Health, reports The New York Times.
CVS is moving away from tobacco products because they conflict with the health-based image that it’s striving for. The company estimates that it will lose $2 billion in sales with the move, but it hopes that the rebranding will give it an advantage over other drugstores, NYT notes.
“The sale of tobacco in a retail pharmacy conflicts with the purpose of the health care services delivered there,” Dr. Troyen Brennan, CVS’ chief medical officer, told Forbes. “Even more important, there is evidence developing that indicates that removing tobacco products from retailers with pharmacies will lead to substantially lower rates of smoking with implications for reducing tobacco-related deaths.”
CVS shares were up slightly as of Wednesday afternoon.
