Walgreens Boots Alliance | Health Risks of In-Store Tobacco Sales in the Age of COVID-19 at Walgreens Boots Alliance

Status
11.63% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
6
Resolution details
Company ticker
WBA
Lead filer
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Public health
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Staples
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Shareholders request the Board of Directors of Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) issue a report within twelve months of the 2021 annual meeting, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary information, assessing how the increased health risks of severe COVID-19 infections to customers that smoke impact our company's evaluation of risks associated with selling tobacco products.
Supporting statement
The COVID-19 global pandemic has destroyed the health of individuals, devastated families, and shut down communities. The United States has been particularly hard hit by the virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a new reality, in which responsible behavior on the part of individuals, communities, and corporations is needed to prevent the spread of the disease and the resulting hospitalizations, suffering and death.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Being a current or former cigarette smoker may increase your risk of severe illness from COVID-19." https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html#smoking

A meta-analysis of peer-reviewed papers from 19 research teams, including CDC's COVID Response Team, found that "smoking is a risk factor for progression of COVID-19, with smokers having higher odds of COVID-19 progress than never smokers." Tobacco use nearly doubles the risk that someone who tests positive for the virus will end up hospitalized or dying of COVID-19.

https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article/doi/10.1093/ntr/ntaa082/5835834

JAMA(i) reported that research on smoker behavior reveals that reducing the number of tobacco sales outlets reduces smoking among young people.

Leading national retail chains with pharmacies such as Wegmans, CVS and Target have stopped selling tobacco products arguing that it undermines the health and well-being of their customers and presents reputational risks;

A CVS-commissioned study(ii) found a significant decrease in cigarette consumption in states where cigarette sales were discontinued in their stores;

The perception of pharmacies, reinforced by their marketing, is that they are associated with good health. WBA lists as its purpose: We help people around the world lead healthier and happier lives;

On October 7, 2019, WBA announced it would discontinue the sale of e-cigarettes after approximately 1,080 people became ill and 18 people died in connection with vaping certain black market marijuana products, but WBA has continued to sell traditional tobacco products as COVID-19 infections surge past 4 million and deaths surpass 150,000 in the U.S. alone (as of July 30, 2020).

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.