5 ms·

CVS stopped selling cigarettes and lost $2B revenue per year. After a few years, their stock is up. Is that seeking profit or doing what's right? Why does publi

CVS stopped selling cigarettes and lost $2B revenue per year. After a few years, their stock is up. Is that seeking profit or doing what's right? Why does public good and public profit always have to be opposed? If being "woke" is profitable, we shouldn't discourage the good just because of potential profits. That would be like boycotting the Prius because Toyota is trying to make money off environmental concerns...

hugey010 7y ago
There are a few decent case studies around this move, and I still find it fascinating. They can say they did it for their values, but immediate revenue loss for values doesn't happen all that often. If it were truly for values, I'd expect alcohol to be removed from shelves as well. In the early 2000's, CVS started treating patients at their MinuteClinics in the pharmacy. It became directly comparable to an actual doctors office, where cigarettes haven't been sold since the 1950's. Anecdotally, and ironically, most of the people that are aware CVS made this move are inconvenienced smokers. I'd expect a huge continued marketing campaign around this endeavor in the US, but it hasn't been as strong as many other less impressive campaigns.
- nerfhammer 7y ago
  they sell alcohol at CVS?
  - filoleg 7y ago
    Most pharmacies in the US sell beer/wine. I don't think that is the case for hard liquor, though.
    - russh 7y ago
      RiteAid sells hard liquor in Washington state.
      - filoleg 7y ago
        I guess it makes sense it would be legal in states where the sale of hard liquor is allowed in places outside of dedicated liquor stores (and WA is one of them), I've just never really noticed it (never been to RiteAid in WA, though, only to Bartells/CVS/Walgreens). Thanks for the correction.
- birdyrooster 7y ago
  Is ending the sale of tobacco really that similar as ending the sale of alcohol in terms of values? What shared values do you see in ending the sale of both of these products?
- s1artibartfast 7y ago
  >If it were truly for values, I'd expect alcohol to be removed from shelves as well. Not sure why everything has to be black and white. An individual or corporation can hold values that are against smoking but ok with alcohol. Picking one and not the other does not invalidate the value. >Anecdotally, and ironically, most of the people that are aware CVS made this move are inconvenienced smokers. I'd expect a huge continued marketing campaign around this endeavor in the US, but it hasn't been as strong as many other less impressive campaigns. This is not surprising or ironic if the action was based more on ethics and less on PR/ virtue signaling.
chipperyman573 7y ago
Wait, how did CSV help anything? People aren't going to stop buying cigarettes. They're addictive. People will just start paying double from a gas station.
- lolinder 7y ago
  If we all waited until we could universally eliminate an unethical behavior before we stopped participating in it ourselves, the behavior would never die. CVS has chosen to stop contributing to a problem, and the behavior of other businesses has no bearing on whether they did the right thing.
- erulabs 7y ago
  Actually there is evidence to the contrary - Cigarette sales fell in the entire state where CVS had a significant market-share, and anti-smoking patch sales increased by 4% in the months following (src: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2017/02/20/after-cvs-stopped-cigarette-sales-smokers-stopped-buying-elsewhere-too/#7a35cf77c8f5 https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2017/02/20/after-cv...) Granted, it's hard to really know anything, but I'm not entirely sure what you're saying is true. There was probably at least a few people who just said screw it and stopped buying cigarettes because they wanted to quit and needed an impulse. Since their sales actually increased in the years following, and typically cigarettes have ancillary sales, I think at -least- a few people quit due to this move.

hugey010 7y ago

There are a few decent case studies around this move, and I still find it fascinating. They can say they did it for their values, but immediate revenue loss for values doesn't happen all that often. If it were truly for values, I'd expect alcohol to be removed from shelves as well. In the early 2000's, CVS started treating patients at their MinuteClinics in the pharmacy. It became directly comparable to an actual doctors office, where cigarettes haven't been sold since the 1950's. Anecdotally, and ironically, most of the people that are aware CVS made this move are inconvenienced smokers. I'd expect a huge continued marketing campaign around this endeavor in the US, but it hasn't been as strong as many other less impressive campaigns.

nerfhammer 7y ago
they sell alcohol at CVS?
- filoleg 7y ago
  Most pharmacies in the US sell beer/wine. I don't think that is the case for hard liquor, though.
  - russh 7y ago
    RiteAid sells hard liquor in Washington state.
    - filoleg 7y ago
      I guess it makes sense it would be legal in states where the sale of hard liquor is allowed in places outside of dedicated liquor stores (and WA is one of them), I've just never really noticed it (never been to RiteAid in WA, though, only to Bartells/CVS/Walgreens). Thanks for the correction.
birdyrooster 7y ago
Is ending the sale of tobacco really that similar as ending the sale of alcohol in terms of values? What shared values do you see in ending the sale of both of these products?
s1artibartfast 7y ago
>If it were truly for values, I'd expect alcohol to be removed from shelves as well. Not sure why everything has to be black and white. An individual or corporation can hold values that are against smoking but ok with alcohol. Picking one and not the other does not invalidate the value. >Anecdotally, and ironically, most of the people that are aware CVS made this move are inconvenienced smokers. I'd expect a huge continued marketing campaign around this endeavor in the US, but it hasn't been as strong as many other less impressive campaigns. This is not surprising or ironic if the action was based more on ethics and less on PR/ virtue signaling.

chipperyman573 7y ago

Wait, how did CSV help anything? People aren't going to stop buying cigarettes. They're addictive. People will just start paying double from a gas station.

lolinder 7y ago
If we all waited until we could universally eliminate an unethical behavior before we stopped participating in it ourselves, the behavior would never die. CVS has chosen to stop contributing to a problem, and the behavior of other businesses has no bearing on whether they did the right thing.
erulabs 7y ago
Actually there is evidence to the contrary - Cigarette sales fell in the entire state where CVS had a significant market-share, and anti-smoking patch sales increased by 4% in the months following (src: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2017/02/20/after-cvs-stopped-cigarette-sales-smokers-stopped-buying-elsewhere-too/#7a35cf77c8f5 https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2017/02/20/after-cv...) Granted, it's hard to really know anything, but I'm not entirely sure what you're saying is true. There was probably at least a few people who just said screw it and stopped buying cigarettes because they wanted to quit and needed an impulse. Since their sales actually increased in the years following, and typically cigarettes have ancillary sales, I think at -least- a few people quit due to this move.