Kelsey Fager

Final Paper
Dr. Fyke
May 1, 2014
CVS Quits Tobacco Products
Part 1
On February 5, 2014, CVS Caremark announced that they plan to discontinue all tobacco
products from their 7,600 stores nationwide by October 1, 2014. In their press release, CVS
announced that this is a step to support the health and wellbeing of their patients and customers.
According to CVS Caremark President and CEO Larry Merlo, The significant action we're
taking today by removing tobacco products from our retail shelves further distinguishes us in
how we are serving our patients, clients and health care providers and better positions us for
continued growth in the evolving health care marketplace. The United States smoking rate has
declined since the 1980s, but smoking is still a cause of many premature diseases and deaths in
America. CVS will be the first nationwide pharmacy retail store that has decided to stop the sale
of tobacco products.
The press release was from the President and CEO of the company, Larry J. Merlo. He
spoke on behalf of the company addressing the new no tobacco sales policy. Larry J. Merlo was
relating the reasoning not only to the customers but also to employees of why ending the sale
was the right thing to do. CVS Caremark helps people on their path to a better health. Tobacco
products are inconsistent with that.
CVS Caremark felt that it was in their best interest as a health care company to no longer
support the sale of tobacco products. An exigency of this decision could be related to Americas
health crisis. The United States is feeling pressure to improve health overall and ending the sale
of tobacco products could certainly improve health. Furthermore, pharmacists did not feel like
they should support the sale of tobacco products in a pharmacy where people come to improve
health, not hinder it. In addition, CVS Caremark may have experienced pressure from
government involvement with our nations health to take a stance on tobacco products.
Currently, there have been no evident pressures from outside agencies that have aided in CVS
Caremarks decision. However, these theories provide some conceivable reasons as to why they
may have decided to stop the sale of tobacco products.
CVS Caremark has primarily addressed their enabling and functional audience in their
press release. Enabling audiences according to BOOK is. They wanted investors to know that
they have considered the bottom line and understand how profits may be affected. However, as a
company, they knew this is the best ethical move for them. Functional audiences as described by
the book are.. Additionally, CVS Caremark wanted employees to be aware that this move will
better align their goal to be an organization that helps individuals become healthier and that the
products they provide are meant to assist in this goal. In the end, CVSs decision may strengthen
the organization because their employees can now better align their day-to-day tasks with the
overall goal. According to Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO of CVS Caremark, It is the right
thing for us to do for our customers and our company, Finally, the organization is trying to
reach their customers who have tried and failed to quit smoking in the past. CVS Caremark is
attempting to decrease the supply of cigarettes by minimizing their availability. In doing so, they
wish to invite people who are addicted to cigarettes to visit their pharmacy, MinuteClinic or
online resources to aid in the quitting process.
One constraint CVS Caremark encountered when deciding to pull tobacco products from
their shelves is the fact that cigarettes are a major source of income for their company. Many
individuals who visit CVS to buy tobacco products also make small impulse buys from the
counter. It is estimated that CVS Caremark decision will reduce annual sales by about $2 billion
(Kennedy, 2014). That is about 3% of their overall sales (Kennedy, 2014).
A positive aspect that came of CVSs decision was in regards to health care reform. One
of CVS Caremarks divisions is providing health insurance. When individuals quit smoking,
there is less second hand smoke. Therefore, insurance agencies can save on costs by the
reduction of heart disease caused by tobacco products. CVS Caremark has voiced their opinion
on health care in the United States before. Former CEO Tom Ryan spoke in a BusinessWeek
article stating that his goal is to help transform America's expensive and often ineffective
health-care system (Boyle, 2009). According to an article in Forbes, CVS Caremark can benefit
from the stop of tobacco sales because of the affordable care act. Affordable Care Organizations
are formed of medical care providers from primary care doctors, nurse practitioners and
pharmacists. This organization idea is to improve health outcomes by helping patients adhere to
their prescriptions, stay healthy and out of the more expensive hospital (Japsen, 2014).
As a nation we are going through drastic changes to the health care industry and looking
how to improve health by preventing diseases. CVS Caremark wants to take part in that by
putting an end to smoking they are taking part in helping prevent premature diseases and death to
continue being a problem. Americans are putting more of a value on their health and wellness
and smoking is something CVS can help take a stand against by making tobacco less available.
CVS Caremark Chief Medical Officer Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H. said in the press
release, CVS Caremark is continually looking for ways to promote health and reduce the burden
of disease. CVS is following their value of promoting health and reducing the burden of disease
by stopping the sale of tobacco in their stores. There are other associations that are mentioned
and quoted in the article that support CVS Caremarks reasoning to stop selling tobacco
products. Using other references support CVS Caremarks support for the assumption that the
majority says this is a good move for CVS Caremark. They are grouping together the supporters
and distinguish the other group as tobacco makers and promoters. This unifies CVS Caremark
with other health groups and individuals who want to see smoking come to an end. CVS
Caremark also works to unite and strengthen with the use of we, us and our. CVS as a team want
to help, they use we are pledging, and we will undertake, when describing their plans to help
put an end to smoking.
The third point is how CVS Caremark is going to help individuals quit smoking by taking
an active role in their health. CVS Caremarks doctors and pharmacists are now going to be
provided with more resources to help patients finally quit. They say this is needed because seven
in ten smokers do want to quit or have attempted. CVS believes that with the combination of
resources and lack of tobacco products in their stores they can help decrease the smoking
population. They end their different reasonings by saying that each day their consumers put
their trust in CVS pharmacists and nurse practitioners and it is CVS Caremarks responsibility
to provide the best service and care the patients health needs. This coincides with their mission
of helping people on their path to a better health. Ending the reasoning with an About CVS
Caremark section proves how this change will help CVS Caremark become a stronger brand
centralized with helping individuals have better health.
Another important fact is that CVS Caremark also has a paragraph on forward-looking
statement. They realize that as a company they dont know what can happen tomorrow, a week
down the road or a few months. There are always uncertainties. While this is their plan for now
certain details may change but the mission they want to accomplish will stay the same. This
helps end the press release with the audience feeling like the message was credible and well
thought out, but it could also make some readers then doubt if they will be able to meet deadlines
they set in this press release.
Part 2
CVS Caremarks press release addressed audience with information they could
understand as reasoning as to why their decision to stop the sale of tobacco products was made.
When presenting the information CVS Caremark started with why their company feels this is a
good decision for them. They are a health care company that provides nurse practitioners,
pharmacists, and insurance. CVS Caremark decided that as a company dedicated to helping
individuals become healthier that tobacco products should no longer be sold in their stores. As
their values and goals state, CVS Caremark needed to align their beliefs with their daily actions.
CVS Caremark decision to stop selling tobacco products was a decision they feel was
right for them but they are not condemning their stakeholders if they are tobacco users. CVS
Caremark informed the readers that they are also offering support and services to help tobacco
users quit if they want the help. CVS Caremark also wants to make sure that their pharmacists
and doctors at their stores have all the resources they may need to help an individual quit
smoking. This is a smart for CVS Caremark when the health industry is going through some
drastic changes. There has become more of an emphasis on preventing rather than just treating
different diseases according to the Journal of American Medical Association quote in the press
release. CVS Caremark is following this new medical approach and putting it into effect in their
business where they can make the most difference. An article in the Journal of the American
Medical Association by Brennan and Schroeder said that:
most pharmacy chains are retooling themselves as an integral part of the health care
system. They are offering more counseling by pharmacists, an array of wellness products,
and outreach to clinicians and health care centers. For example, Rite Aid has developed a
new wellness-store format, and Walgreens is testing a health and daily living design. In
this context, the sale of tobacco products seems contradictory, especially because
pharmacists can provide nicotine-replacement distribution and counseling.
As a pharmacy they are trying to adapt with the changing health care system. By becoming a
more integral part of health care they need to support and sell products that are beneficial and not
harmful for their customers.
CVS Caremark addressed their audiences with facts that helped backed up their reasoning
to quit the sale of tobacco products. They provided facts on how much tobacco products impacts
individuals health in the United States such as how many people dies each year and how many
diseases tobacco products cause each year. CVS states that even with the decline in the
prevalence of cigarette smoking, tobacco products are still the cause for 480,000 deaths annually.
The press release also informs readers that their decision to stop the sale of tobacco products is in
alignment with American Medical Association, American Heart Association, American Cancer
Society, American Lung Association and American Pharmacists Association.
Smoking is bad for an individuals health. This is assumed that the United States
population knows this. People who are addicted to smoking know this. CVS Caremark knows
that the public understands the health issues related to tobacco products and uses that as a
common ground. The press release tried to relate to CVS Caremarks audience with reasoning
and credibility. CVS Caremark allows their readers to make an educated decision.
CVS Caremarks press release is coming from the board and their CEO President. This
decision is from upper management and they have considered and weighed the pros and cons of
the decision to stop the sale of tobacco products. By coming from upper management this helps
the press releases credibility. The press release does not mention how their stores staff opinion
was taken into consideration. They did mention how it will be beneficial to their health care staff
pharmacists and nurse practitioners to align their job with what is available in the stores.
Though CVS Caremarks press release did mention their nurse practitioners and
pharmacists working in their stores, they dont mention what their views are on the decision.
CVS Caremark could have taken the time to include their employees opinion on the matter.
Being medical professionals it is assumed that they will support the move to stop tobacco sales in
the stores. As a medical professional they may feel ethically challenged to sell tobacco products
when their job is to help individuals become healthier.
WRAP UP
Part 3
CVS Caremarks is focused on the alignment of their company as a health organization.
This was CVS Caremarks goal of their decision to stop the sale of tobacco products in store.
They are realigning their corporate views with the daily operations in their retail stores. They are
focusing on addressing their customers and potential customers. CVS Caremark wants them to
know about why this is going to be beneficial to the community and that they will provide
educational help in stores to help individuals quit tobacco products. Even though CVS
Caremark addresses their stakeholders by letting them know they understand the profit loss that
will happen, CVS Caremark is committed to their decision. They understand that some
shareholders and supporters may be upset, but they believe this is the best decision for the
company as a whole.
Helping individuals live healthier lives is their goal as a company. CVS Caremark wants
to act like it in their everyday retail stores. Targeting tobacco products is one way they can keep
up with Americas health care concerns. In an article from PBS, President Obama said on CVSs
Caremarks decision, will help advance my Administrations efforts to reduce tobacco-related
deaths, cancer, and heart disease, as well as bring down health care costs ultimately saving
lives and protecting untold numbers of families from pain and heartbreak for years to come
(Treu, 2014).
CVS Caremark is one of the leading national pharmaceutical retail companies in the
United States. They also employ nurse practitioners in some of their pharmacy retail stores. CVS
Caremark not only sells over the counter and prescription medication but they have Minute
Clinics, and sell insurance. They are a company focused on health care. CVS Caremark mission
is to help individuals become healthier. As medical providers that individuals look up to for
advice on their health, it is important that CVS Caremark works in all ways to help individuals
achieve their health goals. Working in a pharmacy could cause ethically dilemmas to health care
professionals wanting to make sure they are providing healthy products to individuals.
UGHHHHHHHHHH
AND WRAP UP/CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH