CVS Vows to Quit Selling Tobacco Products           

The cigarette display at a CVS in Manhattan. The chain expects to lose $2 billion a year in sales, a small dent in its $123 billion in overall sales. Carlo Allegri/Reuters     CVScaremark the country's largest drugstore chain in overall sales , announced wednesday that it planned to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products by october 

the company's move was yet another sign of its metamorphosis into becoming more of a  health care provider than a largely retail bisinsess with its stores offering more  miniclinics and heath advice to aid customers visiting its pharamacies.

The company estimated that its decision would shave an estimated $2 billion in sales from customers buying cigarettes and other products, including incidental items like gum that those shoppers might also purchase. That is a mere dent in its overall sales of $123 billion in 2012, the latest figures available.

 we have about 26.000 pharmacists and nurse parctitions helping patients manage     

chronic problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease, all of which are linked to smoking,” said Larry J. Merlo, chief executive of CVS. “We came to the decision that cigarettes and providing health care just don’t go together in the same setting.”