Franchise News
Walgreens To Raise Tobacco-Buying Age to 21 on Sept. 1
Amid FDA pressure, the drugstore giant became the first of multiple corporate and franchise-owned retailers accused of selling tobacco products to minors to implement a change.
Drugstore giant Walgreens is increasing the tobacco-buying age at its stores to 21 come September, according to a recent CNBC article.
The Food and Drug Administration called out Walgreens and other brands in February for unlawful practices relating to the sale of tobacco products to minors, with Walgreens as the top offender; approximately 22 percent of Walgreens locations the FDA inspected caught employees illegally selling tobacco products to minors, CNBC noted.
As a result of the call out, Walgreens’ policies will tighten come Sept. 1, when customers will have to be at least 21 in order to buy tobacco products.
“We’ve seen positive results from other recent efforts to strengthen our policies related to tobacco sales, and believe this next step can be even more impactful to reduce its use among teens and young adults,” Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of operations, said in a statement.
As state and federal laws regarding the minimum age to buy tobacco continue to change, Walgreens is the first of the implicated corporate and franchise-owned retailers to make changes to its policies to remain in the FDA's good graces.
Read the full story here.
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About the Author
Madeline Lena
FollowMaddie has spent her career in the media industry, serving in various editorial roles before migrating into a hybrid content strategy and PR role with No Limit Agency. Her passion for storytelling and love of writing help her create meaningful content on behalf of her clients and fulfill No Limit Agency’s mission to tell people-driven stories.
Maddie is a graduate of Saint Louis University, where she studied Communications with a focus in journalism and media studies as well as Sports Business. In her spare time, Maddie can be found exploring Chicago’s food scene, watching an NBA game or lamenting over her middling fantasy baseball team.
