Obama praises CVS for pulling tobacco from shelves

WASHINGTON (AP):

President Barack Obama is praising CVS Caremark for its decision to stop selling tobacco products at its drugstores.

Obama said CVS is setting a "powerful example", and said the decision will help his administration's efforts to reduce tobacco-related deaths and disease and bring down health-care costs.

Obama is a former cigarette smoker. First lady Michelle Obama said in 2011 that her husband had finally kicked the habit. On Wednesday, she tweeted: "Now we can all breathe a little easier, and our families can live healthier."

CVS Caremark, the nation's second-largest drugstore chain, said Wednesday it will phase out cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco by October 1, a move that will cost it about $2 billion in annual revenue.

Obama, in a statement, said CVS new policy "will have a profoundly positive impact on the health of our country".