Bill seeks to prohibit sales of smokes in N.Y. pharmacies

ALBANY, N.Y. New York State Assembly member Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, today introduced a bill that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products in stand-alone pharmacies or establishments that contain a pharmacy. Convenience stores and stores that stock only nonprescription medications would not be affected by the bill.

“In light of the overwhelming evidence of the harmful nature of cigarette smoking on one’s health and the astronomical public health costs posed by tobacco products, it is contradictory and counterintuitive to sell such products in an establishment whose purpose is to provide remedies to health problems,” Hoyt said in a statement.

Hoyt has sent letters for Wal-Mart stores and Tops Markets asking them to “set an example for the rest of the retail market by ending the sale of tobacco products at [their] retail stores.”