Retail chain Stop & Shop has announced plans to ditch cigarettes and tobacco products from its shelves.
The company, which operates in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, announced on Aug. 26 that it will no longer sell tobacco products in 360 of its stores, effective from Aug. 31.
In a news release, the retail chain said the decision is part of its commitment to community wellness.
“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,” said Gordon Reid, Stop & Shop President, in the announcement.
The chain follows the path of multiple other retailers, which also stopped selling tobacco products.
Target ended its tobacco sales in 1996, followed by Wegmans in 2008. Six years later, in 2014, CVS stopped selling the products, and Walmart was the most recent to take on the initiative in 2022.
Trade-in Incentive
As part of its community wellness incentive, Stop & Shop also initiated two cigarette buyback events, where customers looking to quit the habit could trade in their cigarettes.
The events, which took place on Aug. 28 in the Boston area and on Staten Island, were hosted in partnership with the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
“From state and local governments to schools and businesses, we can all play a part in protecting public health,” said Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, in the announcement.
The company chose these locations due to higher rates of smoking and health-related issues in the area.
“We urge state lawmakers to prioritize tobacco control program funding so that those inspired to quit by this effort have the resources they need to help them succeed,” Knudsen added.
The incentive, which the company said had a good turnout, offered the first 100 customers the opportunity to trade in an unopened pack or carton of cigarettes in return for gift cards, snacks, mints, and discount coupons for nicotine-replacement therapy products.
Almost half a million deaths in the United States can be attributed to cigarette smoking, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows, with around 90 percent of lung cancers resulting from smoking.
Smoking can also lead to other types of cancer, including bladder and colon cancer. The death rate among women who die each year of lung cancer is higher than that of breast cancer, according to the CDC.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this article.