New legislation passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will bar pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite Aid from selling all tobacco products, while big-box retailers and grocery stores will continue to be able to carry tobacco, the San Francisco Chronicle reported July 30.

City officials who helped draft the legislation say the argument for banning tobacco sales specifically in pharmacies is a compelling one because of the health-focused nature of those operations. "We teach our children that supermarkets and wholesale stores are places you go to buy everything," said Public Health Director Mitch Katz. "When it comes to pharmacies, I feel that our children and our teenagers get a different message."

Representatives of the major pharmacy chains say the law unfairly singles them out. A Walgreens spokesman said the company will review all of its options in response, including the possibility of legal action.

The Board of Supervisors passed the measure on a vote of 8-to-3, and its action already has heightened attention among other government officials. Larry Meredith, director of health and human services in Marin County, said officials there will monitor the city's implementation with an eye toward introducing similar legislation that is already in draft form.

A spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said the mayor will analyze the impact of the ban before possibly considering a broader prohibition affecting other retailers. City supervisors who voted against the ban said it did not make sense to target pharmacy chains, which also market products to combat smoking.

"I don't see the value in driving tobacco consumers to corner stores where they aren't going to have access to smoking-cessation products," said Supervisor Bevan Dufty.