Following the 50th anniversary of the Surgeon Generals first report on tobacco and recognition of the progress that has been made during that time, good tobacco prevention news continues. With its announcement last week of plans to discontinue tobacco sales on October 1, 2014, CVS has made a commitment to the health of its customers. We hope other retailers will join the effort to prevent youth from initiating tobacco use. Eighty-eight percent of current smokers started before they were 18. If we could keep youth from smoking until they were of legal age to do so, we could eliminate preventable tobacco related diseases in the next 50 years.
