Tobacco sales ban won’t affect West Concord Pharmacy

Pharmacies in Concord were notified in late December that the Board of Health officially voted to ban the sale of tobacco products in health care institutions in town beginning Feb. 14.

On Dec. 20, the Concord Board of Health voted 5-0 to ban the sale of tobacco products in healthcare institutions and in retail establishments that operate or have pharmacies or drug stores within them, making Concord the 25th town in Massachusetts to adopt the regulation.

Out of the three pharmacies in town: Rite Aid, West Concord Pharmacy and CVS, the West Concord Pharmacy is the only pharmacy that currently doesn’t sell tobacco products.

Ray Dinno, co-owner of the West Concord Pharmacy, said the pharmacy decided not to renew its tobacco license about four years ago because selling tobacco went against what the pharmacy is all about.

“We are promoting health and wellness in our pharmacies,” Dinno said. “We sell natural products and we are promoting people to eat well, take their vitamins and be healthy. Selling tobacco goes against what we believe in and we didn’t want to have that.”

Although Dinno didn’t know the exact numbers, he said a “very small” percentage of the pharmacy’s sales actually came from the sale of tobacco products.

“I would say about 99 percent of the people who shop here were happy we stopped selling tobacco,” Dinno said. “There were a few old timers who were coming here for years to buy their cigarettes but they understood why we were doing it.”

Rite Aid’s corporate office declined to comment. CVS’s corporate office did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Products including the patch and nicotine gum will continue to be sold at pharmacies as FDA-approved cessation medicines, according to a press release from the Greater Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership.

Other cities and towns that have appointed the proposed regulation include Westford, Southborough, Wellesley and Lancaster.

According to the Greater Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership, Boston was the first city in Massachusetts to ban the sale of tobacco in pharmacies three years ago, and today more than 25 percent of the state’s population is covered by such a ban.

Susan Rask, Concord’s public health director, said since the vote, neither she nor the Health Department have heard from anyone in the town or from any pharmacies regarding the ban.

“The pharmacies were well aware,” Rask said. “Three weeks before the public hearing the pharmacies were sent notices and information about the proposed regulation.”

Rask said the pharmacies, both at the corporate and local levels, were invited to submit comments in writing or appear at the actual public hearing, but continued saying none of them took advantage of those opportunities.

“So to say I’m surprised I haven’t heard anything, no not really,” Rask said. “We weren’t doing this to surprise anyone here.”

In Concord, any healthcare institution violating the regulation will be fined $200, and each day any violation exists will be seen as a separate offense, according to the regulation.

Currently 13 companies in Massachusetts have been affected by the ban including 79 CVS drugstores, 37 Rite Aid and Brooks pharmacies, 44 Walgreens, 14 StopShop supermarkets and 57 independent pharmacies in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

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