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SF Votes Today on Tobacco Sales Ban

May be nation's first city to shut down drugstore sales

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2008 3:23 AM CDT

(Newser) – San Francisco's Board of Supervisors votes today on whether to ban the sale of cigarettes at the city's pharmacies. City and state legislatures across America—as well as giant pharmacy chains like CVS and Wal-Mart—are carefully watching the outcome of what could be a harbinger of things to come, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The city was "the first to ban smoking in workplaces and has been a catalyst for other jurisdiction," said the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "If San Francisco prohibits the sale of tobacco in pharmacies, we could see this prohibition spread across major areas of the nation."

CVS and other big box pharmacies may face bans on cigarette sales if cities and states enact legislation being considered by San Francisco.
CVS and other big box pharmacies may face bans on cigarette sales if cities and states enact legislation being considered by San Francisco.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A Marlboro cigarette burns as it sits on a pack of cigarettes. San Francisco is mulling another attack on cigarette smoking with a possible ban on sales at pharmacies.
A Marlboro cigarette burns as it sits on a pack of cigarettes. San Francisco is mulling another attack on cigarette smoking with a possible ban on sales at pharmacies.   (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file)
Cartons of Camel cigarettes come off the assembly line at an R.J. Reynolds plant in Winston-Salem, N.C. San Francisco votes today on whether or not to ban cigarette sales at pharmacies.
Cartons of Camel cigarettes come off the assembly line at an R.J. Reynolds plant in Winston-Salem, N.C. San Francisco votes today on whether or not to ban cigarette sales at pharmacies.   (AP Photo/RJ Reynolds Tobacco)
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