CVS announced last week that it will stop selling cigarettes this fall. CVS takes a $ 2 billion loss, which is actually a tiny portion of the company's yearly revenue.
Will the move decrease smoking? Hardly. People will just go across the street to buy their smokes. It appears to be a "good conscience" move and you can't fault CVS for doing that. This state continues to permit people to spew toxins into the air where others can breathe it. Real reform has to come from Harrisburg, not the corner drug store.
It's nice to see Direct TV is standing its ground in the fight with The Weather Channel. TWC wants more money for less weather, and the satellite TV company said take a hike. 40 per cent of The Weather Channel's programming is now reality shows. TWC keeps screaming at how important it is. I think not. You can get better service elsewhere.
The AccuWeather Channel is set to make its debut in the third quarter. It should be interesting to see how many cable companies buy in.
Crest is out with three new toothpaste flavors. I've never been a big Crest fan. I've always found its offerings too chalky and heavy, and they don't produce enough foam. I like foam. Anyway, the three new flavors are chocolate mint, vanilla mint, and lime spearmint. Crest had a vanilla flavor before. I'm a big vanilla fan, but it didn't really work for me. I didn't have the guts to try the chocolate, in spite of a decent USA Today review. That left lime spearmint. It's really not that bad. I don't see myself buying another tube once this one is exhausted.
Our friends at one of the newspapers jumped on something I blogged about weeks ago-- Scranton's problems with curb to curb snow plowing. How do you expect to have an active and vibrant business community when it takes days to clear parking spots?
CBS is paying a ton of money to get a package of Thursday night NFL games for the upcoming season. A CBS head said his network grabbed the games because it wasn't want to compete against another NFL night in prime time. The NFL is a powerful force in sports, television, and marketing. The recent Super Bowl produced huge numbers, proving people will sit and watch even a bad NFL game.
