San Francisco - All Tobacco Products Banned in All Pharmacies..

July 30, 2008 - The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8 to 3 Tuesday, July 29, 2008, to ban the sale of tobacco in pharmacies beginning this fall. The measure amends San Francisco's health code to prohibit tobacco sales in any pharmacy, whether a small mom-and-pop store or a large retailer like Walgreens. Drugstores caught selling tobacco products in the city will be fined up to $1,000.

"A pharmacy should be a place you go to get better, not a place you go to get cancer," said Nathan Ballard, a spokesperson for the mayor's office.

The citywide ban was modeled on rules enacted in eight Canadian provinces. Similar proposals have failed this year in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Illinois and New York. San Francisco is the first city in the country to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies, Ballard said.

Related news brief: San Francisco critical vote - bar tobacco sales pharmacies..

Reference:
S.F. Bans Drugstore Smokes
Tobacco products deemed not compatible with that channel's "healthy" mission,
CSP Daily News, 7/30/ 2008.