Walmart To End Cigarette Sales In Multiple Markets

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Walmart Inc. is ending cigarette sales in some U.S. stores after years of debate within the retail company’s leadership ranks about the sale of tobacco products, according to people familiar with the matter. Cigarettes are being removed in various markets, including some stores in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico.

Walmart, which has more than 4,700 U.S. stores, is removing tobacco products from select locations where the retailer has decided to use the space more efficiently, a spokeswoman said. Top Walmart executives decided to start moving out of the category in some locations before the Covid-19 pandemic, a decision now playing out in stores.

Bloomberg News reports:



Tobacco stocks dipped after the Wall Street Journal said Walmart Inc. is ending sales of cigarettes in some stores, spurring concern other retailers may do the same. The retailer stopped selling e-cigarettes in 2019. Walmart also made its policy on selling guns and ammunition stricter in recent years. Walmart isn’t the first retailer to stop cigarettes sales. Target did so in 1996.