Walgreens is increasing the age to buy tobacco at its drugstores to 21 later this year. The retailer is facing possible sanctions from the Food and Drug Administration for allegedly selling to minors. The FDA recently found that 22% of Walgreens locations caught employees illegally selling tobacco products to minors. In response, starting September 1, 2019, all customers must be over the age of 21 to purchase tobacco products.

According to CNBC, Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president of operations, said in a statement: “We’ve seen positive results from other recent efforts to strengthen our policies related to tobacco sales, and believe this next step can be even more impactful to reduce its use among teens and young adults.”

The pharmacy has the worst track record among all chains for selling tobacco to kids. According to a National Youth Tobacco Survey, an estimated 4.9 million middle and high school students reported using a tobacco product last year.

Source: CNBC

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