Jump to full article: San Francisco Chronicle, 2009-11-06
Author: Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer
Intro: Now San Francisco entrepreneur Stuart Skorman, founder of the now defunct holistic-oriented drugstore chain Elephant Pharmacy, wants to make pharmacies the only places that sell tobacco products.
Skorman, who on Thursday launched a nonprofit organization called HealthyPharmacies.org to promote his idea, believes that restricting cigarette sales to pharmacies would not only control the distribution and visibility of the product, but also give pharmacists the opportunity to counsel customers about quitting.
The idea would also prevent kids from going down to the corner store to buy cigarettes from a clerk who may not check identification, he said.
"Keeping tobacco away from 12-year-olds saves lives and billions of dollars from the health care system," he said.
Skorman advocates testing the concept in some cities and then comparing the impact on smoking with those that have banned the sale of tobacco products in drugstores. He said he's in discussions with city officials interested in the idea, but declined to name the cities.
"If limiting distribution and limiting the visibility of this dangerous product reduces smoking in communities, we believe pharmacists would be more than happy to be part of the program," he said.
The problem? Most pharmacists and health experts interviewed for this story found the idea downright unhealthy.
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Quotes from this article:
If limiting distribution and limiting the visibility of this dangerous product reduces smoking in communities, we believe pharmacists would be more than happy to be part of the program
San Francisco entrepreneur Stuart Skorman, who wants to make pharmacies the only places that sell tobacco products.
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