Why CVS will never actually be a healthcare marketplace

CVS is set to quit smoking, but don't expect the drugstore to get all-around healthy. CVS Caremark announced last week that its retail stores would cut out all tobacco by Oct. 2014, citing a commitment to customer health. "Put simply," president and CEO Larry J. Merlo said, "the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose." That reasoning has raised a few eyebrows in light of other products sold in CVS stores—candy, junk food, and alcohol, for example. If cutting out tobacco is part of becoming a "health care marketplace," then shouldn't unhealthy foods and beverages come next? Apparently not.