Walmart stated on Monday that it will cease selling cigarettes in some of its 4,700 stores throughout the United States. It's a welcome move for the largest retail giant in the States.
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Read more to find out why Walmart made this decision and how will this move positively impact you.
Walmart will no longer sell cigarettes
This decision was made in light of Walmart's plans to expand into the health-care industry.
According to the Wall Street Journal, these are the locations that cigarettes will no longer be up for sale in:
Cigarettes are being removed in various markets, including some stores in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico, according to the people and store visits.
In some of these stores, Walmart has rolled out a design with more self-checkout registers, as well as other items such as grab-and-go food or candy sold near the front of stores in place of Marlboro, Newport and other tobacco products.
Last year, Walmart and other mixed retailers accounted for around 14% of total cigarette sales volume in the country.
Walmart says:
We are always looking at ways to meet our customers' needs while still operating an efficient business.
Read more:
⋙ Smoking: Women who quit during pregnancy can still harm their babies
⋙ Lung cancer: This tea, equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes, triples risk
⋙ Smokers photographed alongside their non-smoking twins
Benefits of not smoking
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarettes are responsible for one out of every five deaths in the United States each year. These are the benefits of not smoking, as stated by the CDC:
Better blood circulation
Nicotine causes vasoconstriction, or blood vessel thinning, which affects every organ in the body. There will be smoother blood circulation throughout the body if cigarettes are not used on a regular basis. It can also help to improve the condition of your skin.
Better heart health
Heart diseases claim a lot of lives in the US. The carbon monoxide, which hastens your heart rate. Not consuming cigarettes for 365 days can reduce the risk of heart attack by half.
Better lung function
By the end of the first day without cigarettes, the carbon monoxide levels in your lungs will have returned to a more reasonable level. In three months it will increase by 30%.
