Nutter administration wants to end tobacco sales in Philly pharmacies, supermarkets

A new bill in Philadelphia City Council calls for stubbing out cigarette sales in a wide range of stores. 

Mayor Michael Nutter’s administration proposed the bill introduced by Councilwoman Marian Tasco to ban tobacco sales in any establishment where health care services are provided, said Nutter spokesman Mark McDonald.

“Including the sale of pharmaceutical drugs, including but not limited to hospitals, clinics health care centers, pharmacies and any retail establishment containing any of the foregoing, such as a department or grocery store containing a pharmacy,” he said.

McDonald says the bill aims to cut down on smoking in the city.

In Boston and San Francisco, which have established tobacco-free pharmacy laws, “over a three-year period in those areas, they experienced a 5.5 percent decrease in tobacco purchases,”  he said.

When CVS decided to stop selling cigarettes, the city made a deal to make them a preferred pharmacy. Several smaller pharmacies followed suit to gain that status, McDonald said.