If you're still puffing away the old-fashioned way—by that we mean cigarettes—and usually pick up your smokes at Stop & Shop, stock up now: As of Saturday, the supermarket chain will no longer sell cigarettes or other tobacco products at its 360 or so US stores, which are mostly in the Northeast, reports CNN. "Our responsibility as a grocer goes far beyond our aisles, and we are committed to taking bold steps to help our associates, customers, and communities work towards better health outcomes," Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid says in a release.
To further help its customers quit the habit, the retailer held two buyback events on Wednesday, one in Boston and one in New York, in which smokers could exchange unopened packs or cartons of cigarettes for Stop & Shop gift cards, mints, healthy snacks, and coupons for smoking cessation products like Nicorette, per MassLive.com. CNN notes that public health advocates have been long pushed for retailers to stop selling tobacco products, and some have acquiesced, including Target and CVS.
Others, however, continue to sell cigarettes, including Publix, Kroger, and some Costco locations. The American Cancer Society, for one, is "pleased" to team up with Stop & Shop in its latest move. "This is a step in the right direction toward ending Big Tobacco's influence on kids, and we know even more can be done to reduce the toll of tobacco in our communities," CEO Karen Knudsen says, per the release. "From state and local governments to schools and businesses, we can all play a part in protecting public health." (More cigarettes stories.)
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