For Back-To-School Supplies, Shop Tobacco-Free!
August 11, 2014
Attention back-to-school shoppers!
As you set out to fill your kids’ lockers and backpacks, you can also strike a blow for kids’ health – by shopping at CVS and other retailers who have chosen not to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. It kills nearly half a million American and costs us at least $289 billion in health care bills each year.
The path to addiction, disease and death almost always starts in childhood. Fully 90 percent of smokers start by age 18 or earlier, and 5.6 million children alive today will die prematurely of smoking-related diseases – unless all segments of our society, including retailers, join together to stop this problem.
Responsible retailers – especially those that provide health care through clinics and pharmacies – simply should not in the business of selling deadly tobacco products. They can set the right example for kids and help win the fight against tobacco by ending tobacco sales.
How can you help? Show your support for retailers that have made the responsible choice to end tobacco sales by shopping with them – especially for back-to-school.
CVS quitting tobacco this fall
Fortunately, you have a growing number of options. In February, CVS announced that it will end tobacco sales this fall at its more than 7,600 stores nationwide. Target hasn’t sold tobacco for years. And for shoppers in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, supermarket chain Wegmans is totally tobacco-free.
By ending tobacco sales, retailers can send a powerful message – especially to kids – that tobacco use is deadly and unacceptable. They can also reduce the availability and marketing of tobacco products, which helps prevent kids from smoking and supports smokers who want to quit.
Want to help create the first tobacco-free generation? Buy your school supplies at a tobacco-free retailer.