If you want to buy a pack of cigarettes, you won’t find them at Stop & Shop.
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.
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 organization is urging state lawmakers to prioritize tobacco control program funding so more people can get the resources they need if they want to quit.
Katie Thornell, Stop & Shop’s director of pharmacy, said the company’s licensed pharmacists are able to provide guidance for smoking cessation and immunization recommendations for those who may have lowered immunity as a result of smoking.
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.
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