Rep. Talabi offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 320.  

            A resolution to encourage Michigan pharmacies to stop selling tobacco products.

            Whereas, CVS Caremark recently announced it will remove all tobacco products from its stores by October 2014, saying the sales of tobacco products is inconsistent with the pharmacy's mission to promote health. By making this bold and unprecedented move, CVS will be foregoing billions of dollars of revenue annually from its stores across the United States; and

            Whereas, According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. Tobacco use is related to asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other diseases. Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke causes serious illness to millions of Americans and the premature deaths of an estimated 443,000 people each year. In addition to its damaging toll on Americans' health, tobacco use imposes a significant economic burden--more than $96 billion a year in medical costs and another $97 billion a year from lost productivity; and

            Whereas, Pharmacies are part of the health care infrastructure in the United States and should not contribute to a preventable cause of death and disease. Pharmacies that refuse to sell tobacco products can better serve their patients, clients, and health care providers. Clearly, removing tobacco products from the shelves of retail pharmacies is the right thing to do; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we encourage all Michigan pharmacies to stop selling tobacco products; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Chain Drug Marketing Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the Michigan Pharmacists Association, and CVS Caremark.