Wegmans will stop selling cigarettes, citing health concerns

[steven]

Wegmans is stamping out sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products at its supermarkets, becoming the first grocery chain in New York State to do so.

The Rochester-based company, which has 10 stores in Erie and Niagara counties, announced it will halt tobacco sales effective Feb. 10. Wegmans will continue to sell tobacco products until then, but will not replenish its inventory. “As a company, we respect a person’s right to smoke, but we also understand the destructive role smoking plays in health,” Wegmans chief executive officer Danny Wegman said in a statement.

Anti-smoking advocates hailed Wegmans’ decision and expressed hope that it would start a trend.

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/243951.html

[bigpoppapuff]

so now when someone wants a pack or two of cigarettes (i don't smoke 'em,btw) along with some milk and bread,they'll go to wilson farms...wegman's loses....


ho-ho's (which i don't eat) are calorie laden.....you get my drift??.....

[bigpoppapuff]

hold on here.......sugar laden stuff is deadly for diabetics......take 'em off the shelves....


lots of people have food allergy problems.....clear 'em out...

[mesue]

I don't think they really lose. Most of the money they collect is for taxes anyway. I bet they were losing money when you consider that a lot of people who can legally buy cigarettes quit and the product doesn't move as it once did and it is hogging valuable shelf space.
But they can't say that as a reason and remain PC. It always sounds better to say "We did it because we care." than to say "We did it because it's no longer a cash cow."
There are laws against smoking, i.e. public places, hospitals, school grounds, but there are no laws prohibiting me, a diabetic, from downing a sleeve of Oreos and potentially killing myself.

[LHardy]

I too find Wegmans reasoning disingenuous.
There are many health related products they could pull from their shelves if they are truely going to be a "health conscious" provider.

Wegmans could even go green and be "earth friendly" as long as they are trying to pull off a new image for marketing purposes. Pulling all the cleaning products and the like that are not "green."

I had heard that the cigs at Wegmans are more expansive than most other stores. Knowing that I would gather it is more a finacial and floor space issue decision versus a heath issue decision.

It does make for great press. Smart thinking Danny.

[woodstock]

Wegman's is hypocritical in this because they are not pulling beer off their shelves. Also, has anyone seen the price of their "healthy" line of foods. Some items are almost twice the cost.

Also, they are not pulling the snack items that are loaded with partially hydroginated oils.

I saw the story on the news last night & caught the part about offering help to their employees with stop smoking methods... It appears to me that they will increase their profits by way of perscriptions.

[Genoobie]

I'm ok with it although the "health concerns" thing sounds like complete BS. They probably don't sell many smokes anyhow and whatever licensing is required etc etc, they probably are losing money on it somehow and that's why they're probably stopping. They're a private enterprise, they don't have to sell anything they don't want to.

[cookie]

I didn't even know they still sold them to begin with! Wegman's is my grocer of choice and I think they do a pretty good job of looking out for their employees. I agree with others though, it probably was something that was no longer a loss leader type thing so as long as they were discontinuing it, use it for some PR. A bit disingenuous, but good PR move in their approach. I guess they should get some credit for that.

[Daisy H]

They must not be selling enough cigarettes to make it worth their while. I'm too cynical to believe they're doing it for the benefit of everyone's health.

[Riven37]

Ban all foods, and drinks...feed us grass, twigs, leaves, bark, and nuts, has better fiber.

[Riven37]

Some of the Targets items our Govt is aiming their muskets at...Cigarettes, Beer, Wine, Whisky...within 20 years they all will be sold only on the Black Market.

[300miles]

I think it said right in the article that they were making a profit off cigarette sales... so that it not the reason they stopped.

[bigpoppapuff]

I think it said right in the article that they were making a profit off cigarette sales... so that it not the reason they stopped.

from the add-ons that i mentioned in my first post on this thread,wegman's makes money that they'll now lose.....

i'm not a cigarrette smoker...nor have i ever been one...but this is just wrong....take everything that is unhealthy off the shelves....

[Shasta13]

First off, I don't smoke. Can't stand the smell of it. I don't work for Wegmans. But tobacco products are still legal to buy and use. I don't think Wegmans is being truthful in the reasons they give for not selling tobacco products anymore. I doubt anyone would care if they said they were not selling tobacco products because sales were down. They have to be, ever see that tiny little cig cabinet behind the service desk? If sales were really that good, they would not have such a small display of smokes. So, they give this great story of how much they care about people's health. What a nice warm and fuzzy explanation. Sorry, when I am sick I go to my doctor, not Wegmans.

Wegmans has sent letters to its employees notifying them of the upcoming change and offering a company-paid smoking cessation program to employees.

See this? This is the start of Wegmans bullying their employees to quit smoking. Voluntary now. At some point, they will make it mandatory that all employees be smoke free. Just wait and see.

[LHardy]

I think it said right in the article that they were making a profit off cigarette sales... so that it not the reason they stopped.

I believe they made a profit from the cigs they sold. I was told it is somewhere around $6.25 a pack. I don't smoke anymore so I have no idea what a pack of cigs costs no matter who sells them.

Profiting from each pack you sell does not mean that you sell enough of that product to make it worth precious floor space. Having managed a retail dept and my own store for several years. If you can not "turn" product quick enough you must move it out and put a new product on that shelve.

This is why I believe it is a marketing strategy to use the health issue as a reason. It will make Wegmans look as if they really care about the health of everyone. Sorry but they do not. If they did they would have never sold them in the first place. It is not as if we haven't known the dangers of smoking for decades.