You are the sustainability manager in a small grocery retail chain, with around 3% of the total grocery market in Norway. NRK, the national broadcasting corporation, has contacted you and asked about your policy on tobacco sales. The background is that Lidl has announced that they will stop selling tobacco in their Danish stores by 2028, out of concern for publich health. You answer to NRK that you are very concerned with your customers’ health, but that you are not currently considering such a move. You decide to discuss the issue in the next group management meeting, and start to make an analysis of the pros and cons.
You know that tobacco, in particular cigarettes, is one of the most dangerous products in your stores. Every year more than 5000 people die of smoking in Norway, and smoking leads to a wide range of diseases and health problems. The percentage of people smoking has gone down considerably, around 7% of Norwegians smoke daily. Using snus has become much more popular, around 16% of the population use snus daily, but fortunately snus is much less dangerous (but not healthy).
Discussion questions
- What are the arguments for and against stopping selling tobacco for the retail chain?
- What other options do the chain have, if they want to limit (but not stop completely) the sales of tobacco products?