CVS Pharmacy Asks Customers To Keep Guns Out Of Stores

WOONSOCKET, RI — Another national retailer is taking steps to prevent gun violence in its stores. On Thursday, CVS asked customers not to bring guns into its thousands of stores nationwide.

The move comes just two days after Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, announced that it would end ammunition sales in all stores while "respectfully requesting" that customers no longer openly carry firearms in stores.

"We support the efforts of individuals and groups working to prevent gun violence, and continually review our policies and procedures to ensure our stores remain a safe environment," CVS said in a statement. "We join a growing chorus of businesses in requesting that our customers, other than authorized law enforcement personnel, do not bring firearms into our stores."

The Rhode Island-based company operates more than 9,900 stores across 49 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Brazil.

That same day, Rhode Island House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello praised the company for its smoking-cessastion efforts. Five years ago, the company vowed to stop selling tobacco products to help create the first tobacco-free generation.

"CVS Health is a true leader in public health. Its decision to remove tobacco products from its shelves five years ago was brave and demonstrated the company’s genuine commitment to the community's health. That decision has helped push smoking rates down, and CVS has been actively contributing to efforts to create the first tobacco-free generation," Mattiello said. "CVS Health’s outstanding corporate citizenship makes me extremely proud that it calls Rhode Island home, and I feel fortunate that our citizens are among those who benefit from its continued efforts to help people quit tobacco."

In honor of the fifth anniversary, the company announced a new push to end vaping, releasing an education curriculum available to school districts across the country.