According to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), the Philadelphia Health Department wants to limit the amount of permits it allows for retailers to sell tobacco products. The department reportedly wants to reduce the number of merchants in areas it considers to have too many stores and ban sales within 500 feet of any school.
In December 2016, the health department issued “Regulation Relating To Tobacco Retailing.” The regulation claims that Philadelphia has significantly more tobacco retailers per capita than other comparable cities, and low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia contain significantly more tobacco retailers than high-income neighborhoods. The regulation also states that high tobacco retailer density and tobacco marketing are associated with increased smoking rates among youth and adults.
Manzoor Chughtai, president of the Delaware Valley 7-Eleven Franchise Owners Association, said the additional 35 stores 7-Eleven planned for Philadelphia have been halted for now. Without a tobacco permit a store would stand to lose 25 to 50 percent of its gross revenue, as well as sales on additional in-store merchandise purchased with tobacco products, he said.
Philadelphia Health Department spokesman James Garrow said that his colleagues “understand some retailers might be negatively impacted,” but the goal is to reduce smoking by children, according to NACS.
