CVS' tobacco move brings praise, analysis as marketing move

Some are praising CVS' decision not to sell tobacco products while others say it's a marketing ploy meant to position the drugstore keenly in the middle of consumer health care.

Los Angeles Times: CVS' Halt On Tobacco Wins Praise
CVS Caremark Corp.'s imminent exit from the cigarette and tobacco business -- an unprecedented move for a major pharmacy company -- is being cheered by many medical professionals and lawmakers as a triumph of corporate responsibility over the bottom line.But industry experts say the strategy shift is less an altruistic endeavor than a savvy marketing ploy from a drugstore giant trying to promote itself as a retail health hub in an age of increasingly self-serve health care (Hsu, Levey and Karlamangla, 2/5).

PBS NewsHour: Considering The Ethics And Economics Of CVS Stores Ending Tobacco Sales
CVS, the nation's second-largest drug store chain, has announced that it will stop selling tobacco products because they pose a conflict with the health mission of the business. Judy Woodruff gets reaction from Dr. Ronald Depinho of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Stephanie Strom of The New York Times (Woodruff, 2/5).