[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2529]
[From the U.S. 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 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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