It is a traditional belief that business and ethics can’t go hand in hand. This was a ubiquitous practice in businesses worldwide, yet there is currently a shift towards the coexistence of both business and ethics in modern markets.

According to business ethicist, Peter Ulrich, proper profit-seeking should be “always morally (self) limited.” Consequently, companies such as CVS have aligned themselves with this novel approach.

They established that they would terminate the sale of cigarettes and related products in order to streamline towards exclusively improving consumers’ health, albeit they would risk losing an estimated $2 billion in revenue (according to the New York Times). Although I personally agree with CVS’ rationale, their decision would only prove to be detrimental towards their sales. Cigarette companies have a myriad of retailers who are willing to market their goods, thus the resignation of one will be insignificant. Alternatively, CVS should retail nicotine replacement gums or E-cigarettes, products that hinder further nicotine addiction.

However, there is a long-term trend of cigarette usage declining to practically zero and a steady growth of health care. Thus, I believe that CVS has made the correct choice, in terms of both business and ethics.