Operation CVS sells poison

Undercover activist quizzes CVS pharmacy personnel about how long he can smoke cigarettes safely.

Here are direct quotes from CVS pharmacy personnel:

"If you ask us, how long it's good for. It's not good at all. You should quit right now."
A female pharmacist said, "It's not safe at all. Yes, smoking is not safe, yes."
"Like it's not safe to use them at all," one pharmaceutical technician said.
Another technician said, "How long? Cigarettes are not safe."
"Cigarettes are not safe to smoke," said one CVS employee.
Another pharmacy techician said,"Being a health professional we would never tell you to smoke at all."
"Pharmacy people we would never recommend you to smoke."

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• CVS
• cigarettes
• safe+cigarettes
• poison
• CVS+sells+poison
• pharmacists
• operation+CVS+sells+poison
• tobacco+free+pharmacies

[fivescott555]

seriously...i guess you want us to stop selling candy, soda, and potato chips. next we have to stop selling things with any artificial sweeteners that may cause cancer. we have to stop selling any cereals that aren't made with 100% organic ingredients. THIS IS YOUR LIFE. CIGARETTES ARE LEGAL FOR ANYONE 18 OR OLDER IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE. PLEASE DON'T MAKE MY CHOICES ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL BELIEFS. btw, I quit smoking three years ago of my own free will.

[tagerace]

@fivescott555 Cigarettes are unique in that smoking causes over 400,000 deaths every year in the US from heart disease, cancer and emphysema. CVS is a licensed health care provider whose stated mission is to "Improve the lives of those we serve." Advertising, promoting, distributing and selling cigarettes is contrary to CVS's own stated mission. You have made my day by telling me that you have quit smoking, the best thing you could do for your health.

[MeredithWaters]

At the end "...costs tax payers billions in health care expenses". How much again is tax money going to the US gov't? If you add up all the nicotine product tax revenues and the health care tax revenues how much would it cost the US gov't if everyone just quit cold turkey and never went back? BTW you can do that. I have done it. That's the answer folks! Boycott cigarettes and "quitting products"!

[tagerace]

@MeredithWaters You believe that the government has control over CVS. I don't have the same belief. Do you have evidence for your belief? I'm very glad to hear that you quit cigarettes, needless to say the most important thing you could ever do for your health. And I'm sure you're a strong advocate to help your friends and family members who smoke.

[tagerace]

LynniePooh726, Thank you for your interest in the national "CVS sells poison project". We thought the pharmacists and technicians acted very responsibly in warning against using cigarettes. We have conducted 64 protests at 16 different CVS stores so far in order to get the attention of headquarters. We have also written letters to the Chief Medical Officer and Board of Directors of CVS.

We have not harassed any employees, just ask any of the managers with whom we have come in contact.

[tagerace]

ak7456, We're glad that our video relaxed you. Cao

[human0un]

@fivescott555 shut up...the store sells diseases as well as cures...its completely ridiculous...they apparantly know whats go od for people? meanwhile they put the cigarettes in everyones faces whenever they check out..you know what that does to addicted smokers trying to quit...its like dangling meat in front of a starving persons face....fuck these bullshit stores..they sell beer, tobacco, and junkfood..its hypocrisy

[MeredithWaters]

@tagerace The government simply has control over what can be retailed in general and in the tax rate. I didn't mean that CVS was a gov't puppet per se. I just mean that the gov't exploits cigarette addiction for the tax money and CVS (and all retailers who sell cigarettes) are more in the middle of that problem than at the forefront. Yes I am an advocate for all people to quit. Don't believe you can't do it, because you can!

[MeredithWaters]

OK honesty time!!! This directive for CVS to sell all these deadly products comes from the US gov't. Huge tax dollars are at stake with people remaining addicted to cigarettes. They started quitting, so what did US do? Come out with nicotine replacement, which keeps them addicted and ups their chance of relapse plus costs money. CVS is a pawn in this, it is not their fault!

[christopher7671]

Of all the places that sells cigarettes you go after CVS/pharmacy

[belowthepovertyline]

I was a pharmacist at CVS for a few years, and believe me, we had no control over ANY front store operations. That's a corporate decision. Trust me, if it were my decision, cigarettes would not be sold in retail pharmacies.

If you're after CVS, go get 'em. The company is the McDonald's of retail pharmacy.