Retailers shouldn't be placing health clinics inside their stores if they continue to sell tobacco products, the American Medical Association (AMA) says.

The Wall Street Journal reported June 19 that the AMA this week adopted a policy position stating that retailers should either stop selling tobacco or shut down their health clinics.

 "It's ridiculous that a health deliverer should be dispensing cigarettes," said William A. Dolan, a member of the AMA board of trustees. "This would be akin to me spreading banana peels all around my office area, and having people break things. My shop is right there, and they come into my office and we fix their broken bones."

Some states, including Illinois, have considered legislation that would prohibit health clinics at stores selling alcohol or tobacco, although the Federal Trade Commission recently concluded that such bans "could limit the supply of retail clinics and the basic medical services they would provide if retail stores were to decide sales of tobacco and alcohol were more profitable than having a retail health clinic."

"We do not understand how forcing retailers to choose between having an in-store clinic and selling tobacco products serves the broader goal of providing consumers with easier access to high-quality, affordable healthcare," said the Convenient Care Association, an industry group.