So is CVS gonna have a "Going out of (the cigarette) Business" sale?

As I'm sure you've heard, the CVS Pharmacy chain will soon no longer sell cigarettes or other tobacco products at any of it's 7,600 stores.  They say selling stuff harmful to your health is inconsistent with their main purpose of selling things that will improve your health.  

It will cost them about $2B in annual sales, and IMO was a gutsy call by their CEO.  I like it.  I'm not a smoker, and I'll go out of my way to avoid smokers fouling my air.  It's a nasty habit as everyone, especially those addicted to it, knows.

But there's the rub.  After thinking about it, I'm not so sure it really was the best thing to do.  To my knowledge there are no "social smokers", those who only smoke on social occasions, like there are social drinkers.  Smokers are addicted.  They are going to get their smokes, regardless of how far they have to travel to get them.

I suggest it might have been a more effective statement to continue to sell cigs to the already addicted, and then use all the profits generated by those sales to subsidize the cost of those proven anti-smoking products they sell that actually help people quit for good.  (I'm not sure what the profit margin is on the tobacco products they sell, but it has to be up in the hundreds of millions of dollars.)

Those patch-type products (as one example) are expensive, and cutting the price substantially might entice more smokers to give them a try.  Or maybe they could use the profits to subsidize the cost of care at their in-store health clinics they're trying to expand.  Many people can't afford to visit a doctor, and this could be a viable alternative for the uninsured poor.  (Don't hold your breath ObamaCare is going to enroll everyone.)

CVS's move was a grand statement that on principle I applaud, but as a pragmatist, I think maybe they could have done something more practical to directly help people. 

And you say....?

S

If you don't want to break 'em, don't make 'em

Yes, it's that time of the year again, time when we declare our New Year's Resolutions, those things we're going to do different next year that will have miraculous effects on our life.  And a couple of days later it will be the time of year when we have to admit....at least to ourselves, sometimes publicly....that we don't have the willpower of a wino in a liquor store.

And the reason we fail so miserably every year is because we aim WAAAY too high.  "I'm going to diet and lose 40 pounds, join a gym and work out 4 days a week until I have the body of one of those Cross Fit people, eat sensibly, give up booze, and get my 10 hours of sleep every night.  Amen."

And then one-by-one you fall off the wagon and by the next December you've gained another 5 pounds, found that your preferred shape is 'round', developed an addiction to bacon and a taste for Ripple, and learned the best classic movies are on at 2 am.

So here's what I've learned from my 62 years on Planet Earth....aim loooooooow.  These are my resolutions for 2013:

1.  I'm going to work extra-hard to keep my weight within a very narrow range....say 10%....of where it is right now.

2.  I'm going to take the stairs instead of the elevator every time I take the dog out for his dootie-call.  (Note:  I live on the second floor, and the stairs are closer than the elevator.)

3.  I'm going to confine my food intake to ONLY those things that can be identified as belonging to one of the major food groups.

4.  I'm going to drink alcohol only on days that end in 'y'.  (I'm not a big drinker, so this should be a slam dunk.)

5.  I'm not going to take up the use of tobacco in any form.

6.  I'm going to limit my sleep to a maximum of 10 hours a night.

See how this works?  Now be brave.  Go out there and push yourself.

Happy New Year!  

S