WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- CVS Health Corp. has announced Be The First, a five-year, $50 million initiative that the company said is intended “to help deliver the nation’s first tobacco-free generation.”
The CVS drugstore chain stopped selling tobacco at all of its then 7,700 locations in September 2014. In October 2014, CVS Health rolled out a prescription-drug plan that charges patients more if they buy their medications at pharmacies that sell tobacco products.
Through the new Be The First initiative, funded through CVS Health and the CVS Health Foundation, the company is extending its commitment to help people lead tobacco-free lives. Be The First comprises comprehensive education, advocacy, tobacco control and healthy behavior programming in partnership with organizations uniquely positioned to tackle this public health challenge, CVS said.
Be The First is directed at youth and young adults who use tobacco or who are at risk of becoming regular tobacco users, as well as the country’s 3 million elementary school children who, without early tobacco education, may become future tobacco users. It is also focused on continuing to support community-based cessation programs for adult smokers.
To help achieve these goals, CVS has enlisted leading anti-tobacco and youth organizations to support programs that address specific parts of the tobacco issue.
CVS Health is convening a national advisory group made up of thought leaders who will advise on trends, initiatives and strategies that help advance the company’s efforts. Among them are: Aria Finger, CEO of DoSomething.org; Rosie Henson, senior vice president for prevention and early detection at the American Cancer Society; Barry Hummel Jr., M.D., FAAP, Quit Doc Foundation; Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; Harold Paz, M.D., M.S., chief medical officer for Aetna; Steve Schroeder, M.D., director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco; and Aaron Zeiler, the 2015 Frank Karel Fellow in Public Interest Communications.
Additionally, Be The First will support a campaign to encourage tobacco-free social media. The #BeTheFirst social campaign will include a variety of shareable videos, graphics and digital tools that enable youth to express their commitment to “be the first” generation to lead tobacco-free lives and counter social media messaging and imagery that promotes youth tobacco use.
Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS has approximately 9,600 retail pharmacies and more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 75 million plan members.
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