CVS Steps Up Anti-Tobacco Cause

Goal of drugstore chain’s five-year, $50-million ‘Be The First’ campaign is to establish the first tobacco-free generation in U.S. history.

March 15, 2016

WOONSOCKET, R.I. – CVS Health last week announced its Be The First campaign, a five-year $50 million initiative that the company says will help deliver “the nation's first tobacco-free generation.”

The initiative by the drugstore chain, which ceased selling tobacco products in September 2014, is directed at youth and young adults who use tobacco or who are at risk of becoming regular tobacco users, as well as three million elementary school children who may become future tobacco users. It also supports community-based cessation programs for adult smokers who expose children to tobacco use in the home and other public venues that permit smoking.

Be The First is in partnership with organizations such as Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Scholastic Inc., American Cancer Society and the National Urban League to promote tobacco education, advocacy, tobacco control and behavior programming.

The goals over the next five years for Be The First includes contributing to a 3% decline in the national youth smoking rate, a 10% decline in the number of new youth smokers and doubling the number of tobacco-free college and university campuses.

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