Staring in February, US-based Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. will no longer carry cigarettes and other tobacco products. Until that date, only remaining inventory will be available in stores, with no new product ordered.

Although smoking has declined in recent years, tobacco is still a “very profitable category,” according to Director of media relations Jo Natale, who wouldn’t disclose specific sales numbers for the category at Wegmans. "Health concerns have trumped any revenue or profits concerns."

“As a company, we respect a person’s right to smoke, but we also understand the destructive role smoking plays in health,” said CEO Danny Wegman in a statement. Store signage informing shoppers of the decision is couched in similar terms.

Natale also stated that the smoking-cessation program would roll out later this month, but that no further details had been shared with employees yet.

The European Union's 27 member states are being urged to do more to turn Europe into a smoke-free zone. Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou raised the prospect of EU-wide legislation to achieve this goal. Ireland was the first EU country to ban smoking in all indoor public spaces, with many other countries having followed suit, or planning todo so.

More than 80% of the world's 1.3 billion smokers live in developing countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Sales in many of these markets are expected to grow modestly in the coming years, in sharp contrast to the developed world, where increasing health awareness and stricter regulation is driving down volumes across Europe, the US and Japan.