Pharmacy ≠ Public Health Monitor

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Sara (her blog) told me that CVS stores with a pharmacy (very prominent in Boston) had stopped selling cigarettes. I am not a smoker myself, but I was surprised by the news. The CVS/pharmacy that I regularly go to always had cigarettes behind the counter. The next time I went to CVS, I noticed all the tobacco products were gone. I asked the woman working what had happened and she said, “We’re a pharmacy. We don’t sell cigarettes.” Ummm… okay?

So I started researching the issue and found this article entitled “Pharmacy cigarette sales must end.” At first glance I saw the Ph.D. and stupidly assumed this guy was a practicing doctor (he’s not). He’s actually a “Professor of Pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy.” He’s also a member of several professional pharmacist organizations and the author/editor of the Pharmacist Activist Newsletter. Anyway, my complaint is not so much about what this dude is saying as what is actually happening.

According to the article, “In December, the Boston Public Health Commission approved a ban on the sale of tobacco products at health and educational institutions, including pharmacies and drug stores and college and university campuses. This ban does not include exceptions based on the type of store (e.g., grocery stores) in which the pharmacy is located.” Tobacco has a long history of being sold in American pharmacies. It is not only the nostalgia of the Wild West’s “general pharmacy,” but the reality of consumer demand that keeps cigarettes in stores. For many living in Boston (myself included), CVS/pharmacy is the “grocery” store closest to their homes. Why can’t we rely on capitalistic practices our country was founded on? If there’s a market demand for something and the companies want to fulfill that need, why shouldn’t they be allowed to?

Lobbyists and so-called “healthcare experts” are fighting what they consider the contradiction of pharmacies selling products not good for people’s health. They are pushing pharmacies (the big retail chains in particular) to remove cigarettes from their shelves. It’s the notion that pharmacies are somehow responsible for general public health. The slippery slope argument also applies here; the city of Boston banned cigarettes at CVS/pharmacy. Cambridge is on its way to doing the same. What’s next? My guess is candy, soda, and sugar cereals (Cheerios too!). When lobbyists start dictating what they think is “good” or “healthy” for the public, they are taking the decision away from individual companies and consumers. People vote with their wallets every day as to what products should be made available; I don’t want some nutjob pharmacist “concerned” with public health to choose what goes on store shelves. We live in a democracy; leave it for the people to decide.

Article(s):

Could Cambridge ban cigarettes in pharmacies?

Pharmacy cigarette sales must end.

Cigarette Sales in Drugstores Come Under Fire.

You Know You’re From Jersey When…

I know it’s kinda lame, but I miss Jersey. (I edited some out because there’s so many. You can find more here and elsewhere on the web.)



You know you’re from New Jersey when…

You know that the only people who call it “Joisey” are from New York (usually The Bronx) or Texas;

You don’t think of fruit when people mention “The Oranges”;

You know that it’s called Great Adventure, not Six Flags;

You’ve known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven;

You’ve eaten at a diner, when you were stoned or drunk, at 3 A.M.;

You know what a “jug handle” is;

You don’t think “What exit (do you live near)?” is very funny;

You know that WaWa is a convenience store;

You know what jimmies are;

You know it’s funnel cake, not fried dough;

You know that “Acme” is an actual store, not just a Warner Bros creation;

You get excited when Shop Rite has its annual Can-Can sale;

You know that a “White Castle” is the name of BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast food sandwich;

You know that the state isn’t all farmland or one big oil refinery;

You know that there are no “beaches” in New Jersey–there’s the shore–and you don’t go “to the shore,” you go “down the shore.” And when you are there, you’re not “at the shore”; you are “down the shore”;

You know how to properly negotiate a circle;

You knew that the last sentence had to do with driving;

You know that this is the only “New” state that doesn’t require “New” to identify it. Try Mexico, York, or Hampshire – Doesn’t work, does it?;

You know how to translate this conversation: “Jeet yet?” “No, jew?”;

You only go to New York City for day trips, and you only call it “The City”;

You know that people from the 609 area code are “a little different”;

You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton – That’s for out-of-staters;

You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls, six movie theaters and nine diners;

You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers;

You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, people from Central Jersey go to Belmar, and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood – It can be no other way;

You weren’t raised in New Jersey–you were raised in either North Jersey, Central Jersey, or South Jersey;

You don’t consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state;

And finally…

You’ve never pumped your own gas!