Health News Around the World
States Urge Retail Giants With Pharmacies to Stop Selling Tobacco Products
16 Mar 2014
More than two dozen attorneys general sent letters on Sunday to five of the country’s largest retailers, encouraging them to stop selling tobacco products in stores that also have pharmacies, which would follow the example CVS Caremark set with its announcement earlier this year that it would stop selling such products in its drugstores.
The letters were sent to Rite Aid, Walgreen, Kroger, Safeway and Walmart, five companies that are among the biggest pharmacy retailers in the country.
“There is a contradiction in having these dangerous and devastating tobacco products on the shelves of a retail chain that services health care needs,” the letters said. Stopping the sale of tobacco products, they continued, “would effectively bring us full circle, back from the time when a tobacco manufacturer could advertise that “more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette” to a time when cigarettes simply cannot be purchased from a business that sells products prescribed by doctors.
In February, Larry J. Merlo, chief executive of CVS Caremark, said that the sale of tobacco products was “inconsistent with our purpose.” The company, which is the largest drugstore chain in the country in overall sales, has been moving increasingly toward becoming a health care provider, offering more mini-clinics, for example, rather than just an array of pills and toiletries.
The group of attorneys general, led by Eric T. Schneiderman of New York and Mike DeWine of Ohio, represents 28 states and territories, including New Hampshire, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Utah, Puerto Rico and Guam.
“Pharmacies and drugstores, which increasingly market themselves as a source for community health care, send a mixed message by continuing to sell deadly tobacco products,” Mr. Schneiderman said in an email. “The fact that these stores profit from the sale of cigarettes and tobacco must take a back seat to the health of New Yorkers and customers across the country.”
The letters do not mention any potential legal action if stores decline to institute a ban; they simply urge the retailers to follow CVS’s lead. But a person with knowledge of the group’s thinking said that if the retailers did not act voluntarily, a push for reform or litigation could be a step down the road.
The letters also did not address the sale of electronic cigarettes, nicotine products that are expanding rapidly in sales and reach. Some argue that e-cigarettes might be a gateway for nonsmokers to pick up a cigarette habit, while others say it is the most effective way to quit. The Food and Drug Administration is deciding whether and how to regulate the product. Even before its announcement last month, CVS did not sell e-cigarettes.
Since the CVS announcement, none of the other companies have shown much interest in following suit. Last week, before the letters were sent, a spokesman for Walgreen highlighted the company’s program for those trying to quit smoking, but declined to comment on whether the company was considering doing away with selling tobacco products. A spokesman for Kroger said that the company believed in customer choice for its adult consumers.
CVS estimated last month that the decision would cost it an estimated $2 billion in sales, not only in tobacco products themselves but other items like gum that customers pick up incidentally. The company’s overall sales in 2012, the most recent year available, were $123 billion, so the effect should be relatively small.
Nonetheless, public health officials cheered CVS’s choice and hoped that others would soon follow.
“Their decision to stop selling tobacco products in their pharmacies is a courageous, right-minded, smart decision,” said Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. “We’re hoping it becomes a trend.”
ESB staff get help to quit smoking
16 Mar 2014
ESB paid €1,600 towards 40 nicotine-addicted employees seeking to quit last year and funded a range of health screening and wellness programmes and monthly "work-life balance" bulletins as part of its touchy-feely "health maintenance programme".
Other staff perks include extremely generous mobile phone allowances in some cases, half-price electricity and the highest average rates of pay in the sector.
At board level, chief executive Pat O'Doherty and other directors spent close to €100,000 on expenses, including €49,828 on travel, €21,783 on hotels, food and drink, €4,009 for what is termed "business entertainment" and €19,223 for "subscriptions to business relevant organisations and publications". The expenses spend is up €10,000 on the previous year in spite of the ongoing climate of belt-tightening in the country.
ESB's spokesman declined to elaborate on what specific events or duties these spendings applied to, saying they related to "normal business activity of the board. Board members are reimbursed for travel costs and expenses associated with their duties on the ESB board. There are a number of board members who travel from around the country to attend meetings, including board and committee meetings, which take place in Dublin".
In addition to expenses ESB's board were paid €15,750 each, with the exception of newcomer Noreen O'Kelly, who waived her fee.
O'Doherty's pay packet rose by over €6,000 from €258,950 due to a tax benefit – but is a far cry from the really boomtime pay levels enjoyed by former chief executive Padraig McManus, whose remuneration hit €750,000 a year.
Later this year, a pay-freeze agreement that applies to the bulk of ESB staff comes to an end, paving the way for what should be interesting negotiations on possible pay hikes. The ESB said that no other subsequent agreement exists to replace the freeze deal, which dates back to the last National Wage Agreement in 2008/2009, but added that overall payroll would be reduced by €140m by 2015.
In the run-up to Christmas last year, a "lights out" situation beckoned when ESB unions threatened to strike over a pension issue. Electricity prices have risen by double digits, up 35 per cent on average since 2011.
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/esb-staff-get-help-to-quit-smoking-30095795.html