Janet Zahorsky
I will never forget the advice my aunt offered to me as I was preparing to leave for college. “I would tell you not to do anything that I wouldn’t do, but that gives you too many options of things you shouldn’t do,” she said. What I respect most about her words is that while my free-spirited aunt has led an extraordinary and eventful life, she recognizes that actions often carry more influence than words.
Like my aunt, CVS has chosen to avoid the “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality by its decision to end sales of cigarette and tobacco products. A company in a capitalist market making decisions based on values and not bottom-line profit? This action deserves recognition and respect.
For better or worse, the decisions and policies of companies often advance messages that contribute to debates concerning the values that our society holds. If you need examples, turn on the Olympic Games. You’ll see commercials by various companies, such as Chevy and Coca-Cola, that promote messages of tolerance. Google the Cheerios commercial that features an interracial family. Such endorsements are nothing new. However, CVS’s decision to pull tobacco products from their 7,600 stores is far more than a statement. It is a conscious action taken to remedy what CVS believed to be a hypocritical company policy.
As CVS seeks to be one of the largest health-care providers in the United States, the company could not reconcile selling tobacco products that attribute to approximately 480,000 premature deaths a year according to its company website, which further explains, “Ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS pharmacy is simply the right thing to do for the good of our customers and our company. The sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose – helping people on their path to better health.” This decision is estimated to cost CVS $2 billion in sales.
Other companies (and we as individuals) should seek to emulate CVS’s example.
This is not to say that all companies should stop selling tobacco products. This is to say that companies should consider whether their mission statements and their policies are consistent. It is to say that individuals should consider whether their actions support the values they hold. For CVS, it was not simply the health concerns associated with tobacco, but rather that those concerns are contrary to the notions of wellness that they embrace as a company. For another company, it may be something completely different.
As clichéd as it may sound, actions do speak louder than words. In order to best make a statement, the words must match the actions. CVS’s action to end its sale of tobacco products speaks more loudly than any words could.