Panelists answered the following: Would you support a ban against tobacco products being sold in local pharmacies?
Ruth Erickson: “Yes! If a big chain pharmacy like CVS can stop selling tobacco products and even change the name of each store from CVS Pharmacy to CVS Health, then other pharmacies can follow their good example. Pharmacies are supposed to dispense medical drugs and promote healthy products.”
Richard Herrera: “Yes. We need to work together to keep our community healthy.”
Marty Richman: “No, we have ‘pharmacies’ inside almost every type of commercial enterprise like supermarkets and department stores. They sell candy, liquor, and make a mint selling unproven, risky ‘dietary supplements’ among other things. Would a location selling so-called medical marijuana be banned from selling tobacco products? Enough with the social engineering for adults – if you give up everything sooner or later life is not worth living (p.s., I don’t use tobacco in any form).”
Nants Foley: “This is one of those tricky issues. I support pharmacies which ban sales of tobacco. But I am not in favor of an outside entity dictating what legal products a store may or may not sell.”
Cesar Flores: “No, too much ‘Big Brother’. I agree that pharmacies present a better ‘health image’ to the general public without the sales of a product, which has known cancer-causing ‘qualities’. I believe that these products should be sold at liquor stores or tobacco stores. However, I prefer to see a voluntary elimination of the sales of these tobacco products by pharmacies/companies rather than pass more ordinances. Let your local pharmacies know how you feel on this subject.”
Richard Place: “What better place to sell drugs then a drug store?”
Mary Zanger: “Yes, but tobacco products have been out of pharmacies for years. Ownership of pharmacies has changed from independent to corporate. The only independent pharmacy in town is ANSR Pharmacy on McCray Street. ANSR Pharmacy has never carried tobacco products. All of the other pharmacies in town are pharmacy departments of big box chains. These chains are grocery stores like Nob Hill, Safeway and Save Mart or retail stores like Rite Aid, Target, and Walgreen’s. None of these pharmacy departments sell tobacco products. It seems that the parent companies or the corporations might be the proper targets for this activity.”
