SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Raley's supermarket chain will stop selling tobacco items by the end of this month at its 128 Raley's, Bel Air Markets and Nob Hill Foods stores in Northern California and Nevada, reported The Sacramento Bee.
"In our continuing effort to raise awareness about health and wellness, and our commitment to infuse life with health and happiness, Raley's has decided to remove tobacco products from our stores in February 2015. We have already stopped ordering tobacco products and as a result of this transition, we will not be ordering any more. This is not a decision that we've taken lightly," the Sacramento, Calif.-based company said in a statement released on Friday.
"Raley's decision to remove tobacco products is our next big step in ongoing efforts to provide healthier options and to raise awareness about health and wellness," it said. "This decision was not based on any governmental pressure or reward. It was based on Raley's commitment to the health and happiness of our customers. We care about our customers and the communities we serve."
The statement continued, "At Raley's, we are committed to infusing life with health and happiness, and removing tobacco products is another example of that commitment. We have a dedicated health and sustainability leader on our team to further support our commitment to provide more healthy options for our customers. There is a very strong correlation between tobacco use and many serious health issues. While other substances can also have adverse effects with high consumption, there is far less evidence at this time to indicate that consumption of sugary snacks and alcohol in moderation poses a significant health threat to healthy adults. At this time, the evidence against tobacco usage is simply too strong to ignore.
Drug store chain CVS announced last February that it would end tobacco sales at its approximately 7,700 locations, pulling the products out of the stores a month ahead of schedule in September 2014.
On the one-year anniversary of the decision to stop tobacco sales, Troyen A. Brennan, CVS chief medical officer, said, "One year ago, we knew that removing cigarettes and tobacco products from our stores would not be enough on its own to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our customers and patients who smoke. We believe our combined efforts of eliminating pharmacy-associated access to tobacco products, and a devoted smoking cessation program through our channels will help our patients on their path to better health."
The company said CVS/pharmacy also offered access to over-the-counter NRT products that assist smokers trying to quit. Purchases of these products increased 21% in September through December over the previous four months. Additionally, customers picked up 2.3 million tobacco cessation brochures at CVS/pharmacy and thousands of "Last Pack" encouragement toolkits, reaching millions of additional smokers with education, information and support.
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