Bill Seeks to Prohibit Sales of Smokes in N.Y. Supermarkets With Pharmacies

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State Assembly member Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, has introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products in any stand-alone pharmacy or establishment that contains a pharmacy. The bill was proposed just one week after Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans announced its plans to eliminate the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco in its stores. “In light of the overwhelming evidence of the harmful nature of cigarette smoking on one’s health and the astronomical public health costs posed by tobacco products, it is contradictory and counterintuitive to sell such products in an establishment whose purpose is to provide remedies to health problems,” said Hoyt, in a statement. Convenience stores and stores that stock only non-prescription medications would not be affected by the bill. Hoyt sent letters to Wal-Mart Stores and Tops Markets asking them to “set an example for the rest of the retail market by ending the sale of tobacco products at its retail stores.” Hoyt also cited in his letters that in 1994 “Wal-Mart banned the sale of tobacco products at their Canadian stores after building pharmacies in each one.”

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