It’s no secret that Bowling Green has recently become a “smoke-free” campus.
Similar to this initiative, CVS Pharmacy has decided to completely eliminate tobacco products from its stores, including the newly opened branch in Bowling Green.
CVS Pharmacy will cut off selling all tobacco products Oct. 1 of this year at both local and national branches.
The Bowling Green CVS just opened this past year on the corner of Wooster Street and South Prospect Street and has been successful in business so far, said Manager Douglas Greek.
But tobacco sales have not been high at the Bowling Green location.
“We are a pretty new store, so tobacco is definitely not a big seller for us,” Greek said. “People in BG don’t think to come to us for tobacco products because we’re so new and they are used to getting them at other places.”
That being said, Greek is skeptical that the nationwide overhaul will affect his store’s revenue.
“More than anything I think we’ve been getting really positive feedback about the issue,” Greek said. “If anything we have gained customers.”
Those at the CVS corporate level seem to have a similar view.
According to a CVS national hotline customer care specialist, CVS was supposed to take an estimated initial hit of $2.1 billion in revenue.
This does not seem to be the case.
“We’ve personally taken millions of calls giving positive feedback on the decision to remove tobacco from our stores,” the specialist said. “I think that customers respect the decision and appreciate that we are taking this initiative, even if it meant we’d take a hit financially.”
With those at the national and local level in a consensus, the only opinion left was that of customers.
Freshman Olivia Cook agreed that CVS made a smart move with this decision.
“I think that this will be really good for their business because they’re promoting good health,” Cook said. “People might have to get their cigarettes from somewhere else, but I think it’s a good business move.”
The customer care specialist continued on to mention the reasoning behind the tobacco cut.
“First and foremost we are a pharmacy — our goal is to give and promote health care to our customers,” the customer care specialist said. “I think that people are becoming more and more anti-cigarette, and as a health care provider, we should follow their lead.”
