In a recent interview with Adweek Magazine, Norman de Greve, senior vice president and CMO of CVS Health, noted the company’s wide ban on tobacco sales in 2014 was just part of their decade-long plan to shift from being the proverbial “drugstore on the corner” to a “multifaceted healthcare company.”
Their acquisition of several other health businesses in as many years has led to their being not just the 2nd largest pharmaceutical retailer behind Walgreens, but the 12th largest company in the world, according to Fortune 500. Through over 1000 MinuteClinics and Diabetes Care Centers, usually located within a CVS Store, the company provides primary health care in addition to the sale of prescription medications and drug store merchandise through their CVS Pharmacy and other drug retail brands in store and online.
One of their latest initiatives has been the recent launch of their “Be the First” campaign, a five-year, $50 million effort to derail tobacco addiction and encourage the next generation to be tobacco-free. They expect to achieve their goal by “working with the nation’s leading anti-tobacco and youth organizations to support comprehensive education, advocacy, tobacco control and healthy behaviour programming to help those who smoke quit and ensure those who don’t never start,” according to their web site.
