[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 5, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H1599-H1600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        APPLAUDING CVS CAREMARK

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to applaud CVS Caremark's 
decision to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products in its 
more than 7,600 stores across the United States. CVS, which is 
headquartered in my district in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, is leading 
the way in promoting public health and wellness, and I hope other 
pharmacies will follow their example.
  I would particularly like to thank Larry Merlo, the president and CEO 
of CVS Caremark; Helena Foulkes, the

[[Page H1600]]

president of CVS Pharmacy; and their board and their staffs for their 
commitment to putting people over profits. As one of the Nation's 
largest retail and pharmacy chains, CVS Pharmacy has helped countless 
Rhode Islanders and people all across this country better manage their 
health.
  The negative impacts of tobacco are well known--lung cancer, 
diabetes, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis--and cigarette smoking is 
the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
  Taking this product off their shelves continues CVS Caremark's long 
tradition of helping people improve their health and wellness, and it 
undermines Big Tobacco's active marketing to future generations of 
Americans to persuade them to take up this deadly habit. I salute CVS 
Caremark in their efforts to help Americans live longer, healthier 
lives, and I am so proud of their decision and their corporate 
leadership.

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