Tobacco Out of Pharmacies A proposal to the P2 Collaboration of WNY James R. Marshall, PhD Roswell Park Cancer Institute Anthony Billoni Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free Coalition
Pharmacies are chartered – – understood – to sell wholesome, health-promoting products Cigarettes are injurious to health, are in no way wholesome or health-promoting Pharmacies should not sell cigarettes
Leading cities are forbidding pharmacies from selling cigarettes: San Francisco Boston
Leading local retail outlets are abandoning or scaling back cigarette sales: Wegmans Budwey’s Dash’s Price Chopper (Albany)
What can pharmacies do? Eliminate brand-specific advertising Eliminate price promotions Place cigarettes at service counter out of view of customers Post notices of the hazards posed by cigarettes Post notices of the availability of cessation assistance (Quitline products) Provide cessation assistance materials with each cigarette sale (Quitline products) Quit (we have written to major chains)
What can P2 do to move pharmacies along? Use buying power, influence of payers Honor roll of pharmacies (R.P. will provide baseline assessment: SRDAR) Other steps? Form working group to coordinate with Assemblyman Hoyt and Senator Thompson?