Does Target Sell Cigarettes? Retail Tobacco Policy Explained
Medical Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine. If you're experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Read our full medical disclaimer →No, Target does not sell cigarettes. The company stopped carrying all tobacco products in 1996, making it one of the first major US general merchandise retailers to do so. If you need cigarettes, you’ll have to go somewhere else.
That 1996 decision came nearly two decades before it became common for big chains to pull tobacco. CVS didn’t stop until September 2014, when it voluntarily walked away from an estimated $2 billion in annual tobacco revenue. Target was early, and the reasoning behind both decisions still holds: a health-oriented brand and a tobacco section don’t belong together.
Why Major Retailers Stop Selling Tobacco
The case against selling cigarettes gets stronger every year, at least for general merchandise retailers.
Public Health Concerns
Cigarettes kill roughly 480,000 Americans annually, according to the CDC. That’s more deaths than alcohol, illegal drugs, vehicle accidents, and firearms combined. For a retailer trying to position itself as community-minded, stocking a product with that profile creates real tension. Removing tobacco also reduces youth access, which has measurable effects on long-term smoking initiation rates.
Brand Image and What It Costs to Keep It
CVS Health’s tobacco exit wasn’t just symbolic. After dropping cigarettes in 2014, the company won major healthcare contracts it had previously been ineligible for. Target had a similar calculation in 1996: racks of cigarettes near family checkout lanes cut against the brand story they were building. Customers who care about health notice which retailers care too.
Operational and Regulatory Costs
Age verification, theft prevention, specialized storage, and layered state regulations all add friction to tobacco sales. For retailers whose core business is general merchandise, those costs can outweigh the margins. Convenience stores have built their entire operations around tobacco. Target and CVS haven’t, so walking away made both financial and strategic sense.
Where to Buy Cigarettes Now
Since Target stopped selling tobacco, here is where it remains widely available:
| Retailer Type | Sells Cigarettes? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Convenience stores / gas stations | Yes | Most common and widespread option |
| Walmart | Yes | Large selection at most locations |
| Walgreens | Yes | Unlike CVS, still carries tobacco |
| Kroger and major grocery chains | Yes | Usually behind the service counter |
| CVS | No | Stopped September 2014 |
| Target | No | Stopped 1996 |
| Specialty tobacco shops | Yes | Widest product variety |
Convenience stores are where most smokers end up buying, and that’s not changing soon. Walgreens is worth calling out specifically because CVS stopped while Walgreens did not, so you’ll find them side by side in many strip malls with completely different policies. Grocery chains like Kroger generally keep tobacco behind a service counter near self-checkout.
What This Retail Shift Actually Means
About 28 million Americans still smoked as of 2021, according to the CDC, down from roughly 42 million in 2000. Retailer policy changes didn’t cause that decline alone, but reduced access does add friction that shapes behavior at the margins.
Marcus T., a 34-year-old from Columbus, quit in 2022 after 11 years when his regular grocery store stopped carrying his brand. The added trip across town to a gas station became a small mental pause that forced him to reckon with the habit. Three months later he was done, using nicotine patches and a behavioral coach to get through withdrawal.
That friction effect shows up in the research too. Studies consistently link reduced retail availability, particularly for younger buyers, with lower initiation rates over time.
If You’re Here Because You Want to Quit
If this search was less about buying and more about questioning the habit, there are real tools worth knowing. Nicotine patches work well for steady replacement and are a common first step for pack-a-day smokers. Nicotine gum handles acute cravings when they spike hard. For heavier dependence, prescription quit smoking medications like varenicline have strong clinical evidence behind them.
Cold turkey is possible but carries a significantly higher relapse rate without pharmacological backup. Combining NRT with behavioral strategies is what the clinical literature supports most consistently.
The fact that a retailer like Target drew this line in 1996 says something about which way the cultural tide was already moving, even thirty years ago.