Last week San Francisco banned the sale of all tobacco products in pharmacies - the council voted 8 to 3 in favor of the new policy!  The policy was ultimately based on the idea that pharmacies are a plce people go to get well, and they should not sell a product we know is deadly and addictive.

Marin County, which borders San Francisco County, is hoping to pass a similar policy soon.

Here's some coverage from Bay Area papers:

Board passes tobacco ban in pharmacies
Wyatt Buchanan, San Franciso Chronicle, August 1, 2008

San Francisco lawmakers voted Tuesday to make the city the first in the
nation to ban the sale of tobacco products at most pharmacies, a move that
backers hope will lead to similar laws across the country.

The ban has already attracted the attention of Marin County leaders, who
may push forward with their own proposal.

The ban passed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on an 8-3 vote, with
some supervisors predicting it would be a "first step" toward additional
bans on the sale of tobacco in the city.

"Whatever we can do to make this country a smoke-free zone, we should do
it," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who voted in favor of the ban first
proposed by Mayor Gavin Newsom.

The law will ban the sale of all tobacco products at pharmacies in the
city, including Walgreens and Rite Aid stores. Big-box stores like Costco
and supermarkets like Safeway will still be allowed to sell tobacco.

Larry Meredith, director of Health and Human Services for Marin County,
said officials there will watch the implementation of San Francisco's ban
and have already drafted similar legislation that could go before
supervisors in the fall.

Newsom's spokesman Nathan Ballard praised the San Francisco board's
action. The ban is set to take effect Oct. 1.

"A pharmacy is a place you should go to get better, not to get cancer,"
Ballard said. Newsom would analyze the effect of the new law before
expanding it to other types of stores, Ballard said.

Supervisors voting against the measure said they felt that Walgreens and
Rite Aid were unfairly singled out by the ban.

"I don't see the value in driving tobacco consumers to corner stores where
they aren't going to have access to smoking-cessation products," said
Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who voted against the ban along with supervisors
Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd.

Chu said the legislation "makes it harder for businesses to do business in
San Francisco."

While the law exempts some types of stores, Public Health Director Mitch
Katz, who helped draft the legislation, said the intent was to focus the
ban on the "group where the case was the strongest."

"We teach our children that supermarkets and wholesale stores are places
you go to buy everything. When it comes to pharmacies, I feel that our
children and our teenagers get a different message," said Katz, who also
suggested the ban could be broadened in the future.

Representatives of Walgreens and Rite Aid said the law lacks basic
fairness.

"We believe this is about customer choice and the right of customers to
find products in our stores," said Cheryl Slavinsky, a Rite Aid
spokeswoman.

Walgreen Co. spokesman Michael Polzin noted that people buying cigarettes
can speak to pharmacists in the store about quitting smoking and can buy
smoking cessation products there.

He said the drugstore chain had not decided whether it would take legal
action against the ban, but said, "We are going to review all our
options."

The American Lung Association, which along with other health organizations
has lobbied pharmacies across the country for voluntary bans, heralded the
action in San Francisco.

"It changes the conversation from something where people of conscience act
to one where a city says, 'You know what, we support healthier lifestyles
in our city,' " said Serena Chen, policy director for the American Lung
Association of California.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Associated Press - August 2, 2008 2:44 PM ET
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) - Marin County health officials are working on a plan to ban the sale of tobacco products at pharmacies.
Officials say the Marin County ordinance would be similar to a ban approved in San Francisco this past week.
Larry Meredith, who directs Marin's health department, says the proposal is aimed at improving the health of county residents. The plan could be brought before the Board of Supervisors this fall.
On Tuesday, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban the sale of tobacco products in drug stores, which could be fined up to $1,000 for each violation. The ban doesn't apply to supermarkets or convenience stores.
The citywide ban was modeled on rules enacted in eight Canadian provinces.
Information from: Marin Independent Journal, http://www.marinij.com

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