Exploring California and New York retailers' decision to end tobacco sales

Tobacco outlet density is linked to a greater likelihood of youth and adult smoking. In the past decade, over 1500 pharmacies and 8 grocery store chains in California and New York have voluntarily stopped selling tobacco products. No previous studies have examined the reasons for this emerging phenomenon. We sought to learn what motivated retailers to discontinue tobacco sales and what employees and customers thought about their decision. We conducted qualitative case studies of seven California retailers and seven New York retailers, utilizing owner and employee interviews, consumer focus groups, analysis of media coverage, and unobtrusive observations. We analyzed the data using grounded theory techniques. Results suggest that retailers had several reasons for ending tobacco sales, including tobacco's incompatibility with the store's image, diminishing sales, the bureaucracy and theft associated with tobacco, and the loss of loved ones to tobacco. Pharmacy owners were more likely than grocery owners to cite health concerns as their primary motivation. Few stores advertised their discontinuation of tobacco sales and media coverage was limited. Thus, store customers in focus groups were usually unaware of the change. Nonetheless, they were largely supportive, viewing it as promoting public health. Retailers' decision to voluntarily end tobacco sales disrupts the normalization of smoking created by ubiquitous availability of cigarettes, but will be most effective only if the public is aware of it. In the absence of retailer publicity, tobacco control advocates should consider ways to reward such businesses and create ongoing support for these efforts.