CVS and Cigarettes
Recently there was an
article in NPR (National Public Radio) about the national drug store chain, CVS
(see link below). The company has made a
decision to stop selling cigarettes. The
reasoning according to its CEO was that selling cigarettes was at odds with the
company’s goal to make a “difference in the health of all Americans”.
One of the things that
has interested me in the class, so far, is how do these ethical questions
really play themselves out in decisions made in board rooms across
America. I thought this story would be
an interesting platform to look at this decision from a moral perspective. I believe this backdrop offers a way to
explore what information could have been relevant in the argument.
(Granted, I am not naïve
enough to realize that the decision of no longer selling cigarettes was just
based on moral considerations. But I am
sure that had some impact in the decision.)
I would like to explore this by looking at it from a “moral dilemma”
lens.
These factors are very important:
- The negative health effects of smoking have been clearly documented by a multitude of health studies (governmental and private entities). The packages that they are sold in prominently display warnings about the effects to the smoker health.
- CVS’ primary business is health related. They operate 7,700 drugstores in American, manage drug benefits for companies, unions and insurers, and run 900 health clinics inside of their pharmacies located around America.
- A loss of $2 billion dollars in revenue has been estimated if the sale of cigarettes is discontinued.
- CVS’ major competitors, Wal-Mart and Walgreen, have not stopped selling tobacco.
- The US government has not passed any legislation that mandates that tobacco not be sold in retail businesses that fill prescriptions, conduct health clinics, etc.
The loss of revenue and the competition is very relevant I believe. It is a key variable in the bottom line of
any profit making health related retail business. And it has to be added to increase the stakes
of the dilemma and how it will impact the company. It also makes this an appropriate dilemma to view within the consequentialist moral viewpoint.
In conclusion, I do not know how any of this was framed in discussion. But I really believe this to be a really good example in seeing how image, business
priorities, money, and competition add to dilemmas that must be addressed in health
related moral decision making.
I agree with you on this subject. I think how a business decides to act morally with their company affects their image. If a company speaks about health and prevention, then how can they sell things that negatively affect health( cigarettes)
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ReplyDeleteMorally looking at this topic from a health perspective, I do applaud CVS for taking the risk to jeopardize it's profits on tobacco for the health of customers. I do agree with what was stated above, CVS being a pharmacy whose goals are to aid people with improving their health but still are selling tobacco does affect their image. However, I do not think that CVS should stop here with their "new image." Considering the fact that they still alcohol or even energy drinks, which is unhealthy as well, doesn't support their aim to better the health of citizens. But as I stated, I do believe that CVS decision is very vital because they are starting somewhere to make a change for people's health.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of CVS making this huge step to do this. They knew that not selling cigarettes could effect their revenue tremendously, but they choose to do it because it contradicted the purpose of the store. Since CVS is a pharmacy their main goal is the health of the people. Cigarettes are proven to be harmful to people in many ways and can cause cancer, and many diseases. So why sell something something that deteriorates health, when they want to promote good health? In other words, I completely agree with Tierney, and I'm sure CVS will take stance on many other issues too regarding health.
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