# Is it weird to you that pharmacies sell cigarettes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304 "2016-09-18T21:35:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/1 "2016-09-18T21:35:26Z")
Was picking up a prescription and some things at CVS yesterday, as I checked out, I noticed the wall of cigarettes behind the check out counter, and thought that it was weird that a pharmacy, a place where drugs sold to help you become more healthy, also marketed a drug delivery device that will ultimately kill you. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/2 "2016-09-18T21:46:20Z")
Yes, weird, if one believes that a pharmacy is an arm of the “medical profession”. Many pharmacy chains no longer sell them. OTOH many pharmacies routinely sell things, like alcohol, that are also harmful, along with an ever-growing tide of items that have nothing whatsoever to do with medicine or pharmaceuticals. In that sense, I suppose it makes no difference at all what they sell. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/3 "2016-09-18T21:51:02Z")
I’m surprised that the OP found cigarettes for sale at CVS. [Two years ago](https://cvshealth.com/thought-leadership/message-from-larry-merlo-president-and-ceo), the CEO announced it would stop selling them. Edited to add, they claimed to be [tobacco-free](https://cvshealth.com/thought-leadership/we-are-tobacco-free) by September 3, 2014. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/4 "2016-09-18T21:53:46Z")
No. They also sell candy/chips/soda/all kinds of junk food. Where I live they also sell alcohol. They are a business, not nannies. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/5 "2016-09-18T21:55:54Z")
A drug store lives and dies on foot traffic. Cigs have 2 very good things going for them: 1. Profit. When the product costs $0.30 to manufacture and the taxes are $5.00, it is real easy to slip in obscene markup - it gets lost in the sea of taxes. 2. Repeat business. They do get people in, repeatedly. Once in, they can buy impulse things or “might as well buy it here” items. Why do drug stores sell milk and bread and candy. Lots of candy. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/6 "2016-09-18T22:06:59Z")
It makes some sense for pharmacies to sell forms of vice. People self-medicate with cigarettes, junk food, and lottery–and they are a lot cheaper than “real” medication. Pharmacies sell things that make a person feel better. Feeling better does not necessarily equate to better health. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/7 "2016-09-18T22:11:48Z")
wow all of ours quit selling cigs 2 or 3 years ago … I remember when target decided to quit selling cigs… almost as as bad as the bathroom controversy t n-n here in … ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/8 "2016-09-18T22:43:53Z")
No. A pharmacy is a business, not a Heath care provider. They sell whatever makes them a profit. You’re confusing their name for their function. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/9 "2016-09-18T22:49:20Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No. A pharmacy is a business, not a Heath care provider. That’s my thought. They’re not medical providers, they’re people selling merchandise. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/10 "2016-09-18T22:51:41Z")
I agree, they’re a business and sell anything that makes them a profit, although, like **Dewey Finn** , I’m surprised to hear of a CVS still selling cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/11 "2016-09-18T22:53:19Z")
The status quo for cigarettes seems to be: “you know they’re bad for you, if you buy and smoke them it’s on you”. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/12 "2016-09-18T22:53:40Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Pharmacies sell things that make a person feel better. Feeling better does not necessarily equate to better health. So pharmacist = drug dealer 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/13 "2016-09-18T22:55:37Z")
Here in the UK we often call pharmacies chemists. (Just thought you’d like to know.) To my dismay, I’ve seen them selling copper bracelets to ‘treat’ arthritis and homeopathic products. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/14 "2016-09-18T23:55:39Z")
> [@glee](#): > > Here in the UK we often call pharmacies chemists. (Just thought you’d like to know.) > To my dismay, I’ve seen them selling copper bracelets to ‘treat’ arthritis and homeopathic products. :smack: I was going to post about how that pisses me off. I even wrote a letter to CVS about how I wasn’t impressed with them discontinuing cigarettes, which at least come with a warning, but continuing to sell homeopathic products mixed in with actually effective products, and with no disclaimer that using them could deter a person from seeking effective help. It’s the lack of a disclaimer that makes them dangerous. There are hard-core woo people who wouldn’t go to a real doctor if their arm was dangling by a flap of skin, or their child were literally turning blue from anoxia, but I have known plenty of people who bought homeopathic products because well, they were in the pharmacy, and they made the assumption that they must be real medicine. These people couldn’t tell you what homeopathy is, and wouldn’t buy these products if there were a disclaimer. I’m not saying that crazy woo people shouldn’t be able to get their homeopathic crap if that’s what they want to waste their money on; I’m just saying that the stuff should be displayed in such a way that people who want something effective can’t tell one product from the other. Heck, when the stuff first appeared, I picked it up, but once I read the ingredients, I put it right back down. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/15 "2016-09-19T00:00:33Z")
Actually, now that I think of it, some pharmacies-- not all-- do have pretensions to be more comprehensive health care centers. They have mini-clinics, with PAs, or CNAs, who can prescribe some drugs, and administer things like rapid strep tests, and basically do triage, so you know on the weekend whether you need to go to an ER or can wait till Monday with something. They also give flu shots. Pharmacies like this should toss the cigs and homeopathic stuff, and maybe the alcohol as well. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/16 "2016-09-19T00:10:18Z")
> [@Periwinkle](#): > > They are a business, not nannies. I like the way you put it. I believe some of the big chains have gotten rid of tobacco (or at least cigarettes) but the little Mom & Pop joints I like need whatever they can get that sells; a lot of times that happens to be cigarettes. Especially with how many grocery stores now have their own pharmacies and carry pretty much everything including a whole list of things that are bad for me. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/17 "2016-09-19T00:15:52Z")
Remember Theranos - the “Full blood analysis from a pinprick” scam? Walgreens actually got in bed with that group - and was a bit slow to dump it. Wanna talk about “failing to do due diligence”? Drop Walgreens a note. I do respect stores which drop tobacco for ethical reasons - that loss of profit has to hurt. With any business - first make enough money to operate, THEN you can engage your prejudices. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/18 "2016-09-19T00:33:02Z")
There’s a chain drugstore a few blocks south of my that sells laxatives, toilet paper, AND bar soap that you can use to wash your ass. Big Capitalism run amok! Come the Revolution, they’ll be the first ones up against the wall! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/19 "2016-09-19T01:02:25Z")
CVS may have a pharmacy on the premises, but it’s a _drug store_. Big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304/20 "2016-09-19T01:24:39Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Actually, now that I think of it, some pharmacies-- not all-- do have pretensions to be more comprehensive health care centers. They have mini-clinics, with PAs, or CNAs, who can prescribe some drugs, and administer things like rapid strep tests, and basically do triage, so you know on the weekend whether you need to go to an ER or can wait till Monday with something. They also give flu shots. > > Pharmacies like this should toss the cigs and homeopathic stuff, and maybe the alcohol as well. The first time I saw a clinic in a Walgreens was recently on vacation and I was very thankful. I got hit with a massive ear infection which was going to derail the vacation but I was able to go in and get the antibiotic I needed and was feeling better in a day or so. I didn’t notice if they sold cigarettes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-weird-to-you-that-pharmacies-sell-cigarettes/766304.md?page=2)