On Thursday, the FDA put Walgreens on notice, initiating enforcement action against certain retail locations of Walgreens and Circle K Stores for repeated violations of restrictions on the sale and distribution of tobacco products, including sales of cigars and menthol cigarettes to minors. Notably, Walgreens is currently the top violator among pharmacies that sell tobacco products, with 22 percent of the stores inspected having illegally sold tobacco products to minors, the FDA said
In 2015, increased frequency at c-stores combined with CVS departure from the category turned flat-to-declining tobacco sales into an increase of 3.4%, according to the SOI report
The drugstore chain said Tuesday that it will require customers to be at least 21 years old to purchase tobacco in any of its more than 9,500 stores nationwide
The change comes nearly two years after the drugstores competitor CVS Health announced it would stop selling cigarettes at its stores nationwide
As reported in CSP Daily News earlier this year, the Deerfield, Ill.-based drug chain has had to respond to growing shareholder concerns that its health-and-wellness mantra runs contrary to tobacco sales
