Walmart Draws The Line On Smoking

Walmart wants young adults to quit a dirty habit 

On Monday, Walmart shocked smokers who were over 18 but under 21 because the retailer stopped selling tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to anyone under 21 years old.

According to Businessinsider.com it was back in May that the Company announced that  to raise the minimum age for tobacco purchases from 18 years old to 21 years old. The change took effect Monday (July 1st) in all US Walmart and Sam's Club stores.

The  US Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to the corporation  regarding the sale of tobacco to minors. John Scudder, Walmart US Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer discussed the changes the company would be taking...

While we have implemented a robust compliance program, we are not satisfied with falling short of our company-wide goal of 100% compliance. Even a single sale to a minor is one too many, and we take seriously our responsibilities in this regard. So today, we sent a letter back to the FDA outlining additional measures we're taking to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors.

Yet it is not just Walmart that is thinking of ramifications due to younger people smoking.  Walgreens announced in April that it would raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products to 21, not long after Rite Aid said it would stop selling all e-cigarettes and vaping products.

Some pharmacy chains took it step further in 2014. CVS/pharmacy stopped selling cigarettes and tobacco products to their customers. Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Caremark, said in a statement...

Ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health. Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose.

So if you are under 21 the search for cigarettes is not worth the time, so just give up the habit (you will be happier, healthier  and smell better).