S.F. Tobacco Sales Ban Back in Court

A constitutional challenge to a San Francisco law banning tobacco sales at pharmacies has been reinstated by a state appeals court, the Associated Press reported June 9.

The suit filed by the Walgreen drug-store chain may have merit because the city ordinance singles out stand-alone stores, while allowing tobacco sales to continue at supermarkets and retailers like Wal-Mart that also have pharmacies, the First District Court of Appeal ruled.

San Francisco officials, who approved the law last October, contend that stand-alone pharmacies are different because people shop there primarily for health-related reasons.