Research Proposal on "Tobacco Industry Marketing Practices and Smoking Ban in Boston"

Research Proposal 5 pages (1417 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Smoking Ban

On February 9, 2009, a new ordinance went in to affect in the city of Boston, banning cigarette sales in pharmacies. The ordinance was passed by the Boston Public Health Commission and covers only the city of Boston, not outlying cities. The sale ban is another in a multi-step program in the city to eradicate smoking. There have also been bans on smoking in bars, cigar bars excepted, bans on the sale of cigarettes on college campuses and a ban on the sale of rolling papers anywhere in the city.

Effect on Tobacco Sales

The regulation singles out pharmacies for the ban, under the theory that pharmacies represent part of the health care system and therefore should not be selling a product that damages people's health. Pharmacies account for 4% of total sales of tobacco products (Magee, 2008). This is against the will of the vast majority of pharmacists. However, the major corporations that run the pharmacies, CVS and Walgreen's, generate substantial profit from the sale of cigarettes. The total market is $65 billion, so the take of the pharmacies is estimated to be $2.6 billion. Thus, the city of Boston felt that the ban needed to come from their end.

A survey of Boston pharmacies on the day the ban went into effect revealed that all had removed their tobacco products. The CVS stores surveyed had replaced their tobacco shelves with Nicorettes and other products designed to help people break their tobacco addictions. At Walgreen's the shelving formerly used for tobacco products merely sat empty. The CVS stores had signs alerting their customers about the new regulations, to alleviate customer concerns and avoid customer complaints (Smith, 2009).

Enforcement of the regulations began right away, but thus far all pharmacies are compliant. The two major chains dominate the pharmacy industry in the city and both agreed all along that they would be compliant. CVS, in fact, had toyed with the idea of halting tobacco sales around the same time that Target ceased tobacco sales in 1996 (Magee, 2008).

Stakeholder Analysis

There are several major stakeholders with respect to the Boston ban. These are the tobacco companies, the City of Boston, consumers and the pharmacies. The pharmacies have little control in this situation. They are losing a significant component of their sales. While the pharmacies have been forced to be compliant, they lose a key product and can do little to replace that revenue. When San Francisco implemented a similar ban last year, Walgreen's joined with Philip Morris in a lawsuit against the city. They contend that they are being discriminated against and that other types of businesses are being favored (Gebhart, 2008). The pharmacies also suffer because they use cigarettes to bring customers into their stores, where those customers purchase other products. This ban creates a loss of that revenue as well (Ibid.).

The City of Boston's main objective is to continue its assault on tobacco products, the city approved the new rules unanimously, indicating a strength of conviction among the city's leadership. The city followed the lead of San Francisco, which banned cigarette sales in pharmacies last year, and similar bans in several Canadian provinces (Ibid.). Although it has not been explicitly stated in Boston, it is known that in San Francisco the ban is a precursor to a much wider ban on cigarette sales in the future (Ibid.) the city of Boston stated promoting health and safety is their primary concern, indicating that they will follow up with more legislation (Hirschkorn & Pinkston, 2009).

For consumers, the law amounts to little more than an inconvenience. A researcher at the Boston University School of Public Health indicated that "This policy is not going to save any lives." (Drug Topics, 2009). With only 4% of tobacco sales taking place at pharmacies, consumers can reasonably be expected to take their business elsewhere, even to pharmacies in locations outside of city limits.

For the tobacco companies, the stakes are higher. Philip Morris was a party in the lawsuit that Walgreen's filed in San Francisco. Both companies launched that lawsuit in response to a threat levied against their businesses. Tobacco companies have in the past several years been curtailed in terms of their marketing efforts. The ban on sales… READ MORE

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