Washington (February 7, 2014) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee released the following statement after CVS Caremark announced it was halting sales of tobacco products at its stores. 

 

“I applaud CVS Caremark for making the historic decision to stop selling tobacco products in its stores. This decision will set a powerful example for all retailers and sends a message that it is good business to protect the long-term health of the public. By snuffing out the availability of tobacco in their stores, CVS is helping to end the damage of nicotine addiction and smoking-related deaths.” 

 

In 2007, then-Rep. Markey held a hearing in the House of Representatives focused on the images children see on movie screens, during which he called upon media companies to join the anti-smoking effort and help dissuade children from starting to smoke. Then-Rep. Markey also led the Congressional effort, including introducing legislation, that set a national “self-extinguishing” standard for cigarettes to help prevent the hundreds of deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages caused by cigarette-ignited fires every year.