Stop & Shop says it will stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products at its 360 stores across southern New England, New York and New Jersey.
The grocer says it will end the sale of all tobacco products by Aug. 31 and will also be hosting cigarette buybacks to encourage shoppers to quit smoking, although no buybacks are immediately planned for Connecticut, the grocer announced Monday.
“Stop & Shop aims to support the health and well-being of the neighborhoods we serve – and this exit from tobacco is one more way we’re accomplishing that goal,” Gordon Reid, Stop & Shop president, said in a written statement.
Reid said the company’s “responsibility as a grocer goes far beyond our aisles” and that removing cigarettes would help promote better health for customers, employees and communities.
Cigarette smoking remains “the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nationwide, the numbers of smokers are dropping. As of 2021, nearly 12 out of every 100 adults smoked cigarettes – about 28.3 million people. That’s compared to nearly 21 out of every 100 adults in 2005.
Still, smoking contributes to nearly 500,000 annual U.S. deaths. More than 16 million Amerians live with a smoking-related disease, the CDC reports.
