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CVS, the nation's second-largest drugstore chain, is kicking the habit of selling tobacco products as it continues to shift its focus toward being more of a health care provider.
The company said Wednesday that it will phase out cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco by Oct. 1 in its 7,600 stores nationwide, in a move that will help grow its business that works with doctors, hospitals and others to improve customers' health.
The move is the latest evidence of a big push in the drugstore industry that has been taking place over several years. Major drugstore chains have been adding in-store clinics and expanding their health care offerings. Their pharmacists deliver flu shots and other immunizations, and their clinics now manage chronic illnesses like high blood pressure and diabetes and treat relatively minor problems like sinus infections.
Among other things, they're preparing for increased health care demand. That's in part due to an aging U.S. population that will need more care in future years. It's also the result of the millions of people expected to gain health insurance under the health care overhaul.
Read more http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/cvs-caremark-plans-stop-selling-tobacco-products-22371836
