Walmart Halting Sale Of Controversial Product In Select Stores
Fans of one Walmart product might be upset to find it gone from store shelves.
This article is more than 2 years old
In certain stores across the country, Walmart will put a significant pause on cigarette sales. This follows years of pursuits from attorney generals wanting to stop the sale of tobacco in Walmart stores, the country’s largest retailer. Finally, the company has decided to remove cigarettes from various stores and move forward with limited tobacco sales.
Walmart cigarettes are being removed from select California, Nevada, Florida, and New Mexico stores. The corporation is taking the removal of tobacco seriously, trying to reconcile this departure with other items. In these select stores, more grab-and-go items and candy products are available at check-out stations, an apparent distraction from the disappearing tobacco products. All in all, Walmart is making progress in deterring people from buying harmful smoking items.
Walmart is changing its policy around cigarettes at a good time. Now more than ever, the United States is cracking down on cigarette sales and corresponding laws. In 2019, the US finally raised the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21, hoping to stop young people from starting a nicotine addiction. This nudged many companies to eliminate cigarettes altogether, like certain Walmart-owned businesses like Sam’s Club. Since many of the corporation’s acquired businesses don’t sell cigarettes anymore, it’s understandable that Walmart has finally disbanded cigarette sales in select stores.
For years, healthcare providers, business owners, and law enforcement members have made stark testimonies against medical-care retailers providing tobacco products. In 2014, 24 attorney generals addressed letters to retailers about their tobacco concerns. The main issue was not only that tobacco products were harmful to individuals but detailing the hypocrisy in a retailer selling healthcare items and cigarettes alongside each other. The initial letters stopped major retailer CVS from selling cigarettes, and now Walmart’s cigarettes are also being disbanded.
Many retailers have already stopped or reduced their sales of tobacco products. Target halted its tobacco sales 25 years prior, while grocery stores like Costco have removed most products in select stores. CVS removed cigarettes from stores almost ten years ago, while other retailers like Walgreens are still meditating on the idea of limiting tobacco products altogether. Walmart cigarettes are being reduced store to store, but the company hasn’t issued which stores aren’t selling smoking items anymore.
In a concerning turn of events, tobacco sales increased in 2020, the first incline in two decades. This can be attributed to the beginning of the pandemic, where many indulged in various vices to alleviate their quarantine stresses. While the pandemic rages on and the United States has mostly taken a backseat in crafting sustainable policies regarding COVID, many citizens continually search outward for immediate relief with substances like tobacco. Though Walmart is removing cigarettes at a pivotal time for tobacco sales, the decision was based on a moralistic viewpoint instead of a monetary one.
Tobacco sales may be up in the country, but more retailers are standing against selling tobacco products. Walmart cigarettes are being restricted in various states, and these policies may carry on to other stores in the near future.
