Will CVS' Decision to Drop Tobacco Help Physicians?

Calling it "the right thing for us to do" for its customers and its company, CVS Caremark announced today it will no longer sell cigarettes and other tobacco products by Oct. 1, 2014, at more than 7,600 pharmacy and store locations. CVS Caremark said it expects the decision to cost them $2 billion annually in lost revenues from tobacco shoppers.

The move has been universally lauded in the healthcare community, from the American Lung Association to the American Heart Association, and the American Medical Association, who publically praised the company for  "putting public health ahead of their bottom line," in a statement from president Ardis Dee Hoven, MD.

So, as a physician or medical practice employee, what do you think? Will one chain's decision to drop tobacco just lead to shoppers heading elsewhere or will it actually make a difference to get smokers to quit? Will it help you as medical professionals make the case against smoking with your patients?

Tell us in the comments section below.