Does this mean the end of cigarettes? For this major grocery chain, it is the end.
Stop & Shop has announced that it will no longer sell tobacco products in all 360 stores in the United States.
The announcement also comes with the implementation of a new rule. Starting August 31, all Stop & Shop stores – operating in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey – will stop selling tobacco products and switch to a plan designed to help customers quit smoking.
For Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop, this is an opportunity to further improve the community.
“Our responsibility as a grocer extends far beyond our shelves, and we are committed to taking bold steps to help our employees, customers and communities work toward better health outcomes,” Reid said in the announcement.
“From our team of board-certified dietitians who serve our customers free of charge to our trained and trusted pharmacy staff, Stop & Shop aims to support the health and well-being of the communities we serve – and this tobacco cessation is another way we are achieving that goal,” he added.
But the end of tobacco sales in all Stop & Shop stores is not the end of it. The grocer is taking its health initiative a step further and even offering to buy back your cigarette packs by holding two cigarette buyback events in some of its stores on August 28th.
This major, albeit unconventional, step particularly attracts the attention of the executive director of the American Cancer Society, Dr. Karen E. Knudsen.
“From state and local governments to schools and businesses, we can all play a role in protecting public health,” Knudsen said in the announcement. “We urge state lawmakers to prioritize funding for tobacco control programs so that those motivated to quit through these efforts have the tools they need to succeed.”
At both events, the first 100 customers to bring in an unopened pack or carton of cigarettes for exchange will receive a Stop & Shop gift card and a bag full of healthy snacks, mints and smoking cessation materials created in partnership with the American Cancer Society and its partner organization, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, as well as $10 discount coupons for Nicorette.
Both events will take place at Boston’s Stop & Shop at 460 Blue Hill Ave. and at the Stop & Shop store at 1351 Forest Ave. on Staten Island, New York.
