Another supermarket business discontinues tobacco sales: Stop & Shop closes all 360 of its stores

Stop & Shop has announced plans to remove cigarettes and other tobacco products off its shelves, so customers will no longer be able to stock up on these items.

The network of grocery shops, which is founded in Massachusetts, said on Monday that it will no longer be selling tobacco products in any of its 360 locations. The chain, which operates locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, intends to stop selling the products at any of its locations by this Saturday.

Stop & Shop is not the first retailer to give up tobacco items and smokes. According to the Associated Press, Target discontinued selling the goods in 1996. Wegmans did the same in 2008, CVS did so in 2014, and Walmart did so in 2022.

In a press statement, Stop & Shop stated that the choice is a reflection of their "commitment to community wellness."

The statement was made by Stop & Shop President Gordon Reid. "Stop & Shop aims to support the health and well-being of the neighborhoods we serve – and this exit from tobacco is one more way we're accomplishing that goal."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that smoking cigarettes results in over 480,000 deaths annually in the US.

According to the CDC, smoking is also responsible for almost 90% of lung cancer deaths, and more women die from lung cancer annually than from breast cancer.

Smoking has been linked to cancer in the bladder, blood, cervix, colon, rectum, esophagus, kidney, stomach, and other organs.

A grocery store offers trade-in deals to people who are attempting to give up smoking.

Along with removing tobacco goods from its shelves, Stop & Shop held two cigarette buyback events on Staten Island and in the Boston region on Wednesday.

The corporation claims that both locations are situated in areas where smoking and health-related problems are more common.

Along with a $10 discount coupon for nicotine replacement therapy goods, SkinnyPop popcorn and other snacks, mints, and materials to help smokers quit smoking, the first 100 customers who stopped by with an unopened pack or carton of cigarettes received a gift card from Stop & Shop.

There was a decent turnout, according to a corporate spokeswoman, and many consumers donated cigarettes for loved ones in an effort to support them in quitting smoking.

The activities were organized by Stop & Shop in collaboration with the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

"Everyone can contribute to safeguarding public health, ranging from state and local administrations to educational institutions and commercial enterprises," stated Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society and its Cancer Action Network, in the statement. "We implore state legislators to give funding for tobacco control programs top priority so that individuals motivated to quit by this endeavor have the tools they require to be successful." (*)