Introduction
Beginning September 3, 2014, CVS Health stopped selling tobacco products in all of
its retail stores nationwide. This study assessed the impact of removing tobacco sales
from CVS Health on cigarette smoking behaviors among U.S. adult smokers.
Methods
CVS Health retail location data (2012–2016) were linked with data from the Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System, a phone-based survey of the non-institutionalized
civilian population aged ≥18 years. Using a difference-in-differences regression model,
quit attempts and daily versus nondaily smoking were compared between smokers living
in counties with CVS stores and counties without CVS stores, before and after CVS's
removal of tobacco sales. Control variables included individuals’ sociodemographic
and health-related variables, state tobacco control variables, and urban status of
counties. Analyses were conducted in 2018.
Results
During the 2-year period following the removal of tobacco sales from CVS Health, smokers
living in counties with high CVS density (≥3.5 CVS stores per 100,000 people) had
a 2.21% (95% CI=0.08, 4.33) increase in their quit attempt rates compared with smokers
living in counties without CVS stores. This effect was greater in urban areas (marginal
effect: 3.03%, 95% CI=0.81, 5.25); however, there was no statistically significant
impact in rural areas. Additionally, there was no impact on daily versus nondaily
smoking in either urban or rural areas.
Conclusions
Removing tobacco sales in retail pharmacies could help support cessation among U.S.
adults who are attempting to quit smoking, particularly in urban areas.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: November 20, 2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
