Richard Piatt reporting

Want a pack of cigarettes? A cigar? Chewing tobacco? Go to another store.

It’s a self-imposed ban on all tobacco products in grocery stores owned by Dan’s Foods. Starting June 1, the stores will stop selling everything tobacco-related, and the company says the decision is based solely on health.

Like it or not, this is a pretty bold move for the locally-owned grocery store chain. Some people we talked to came right out and said they thought it was dumb. But Dan’s is doing it because it thinks it’s a smart idea.

Smoker Rick Bills has been puffing away for years, and even he supports Dan’s ban on smokes. “Yes, I do regret my decision to smoke,” he said.

Other smokers are not so supportive, though less were willing to say so on camera. But even smoker Rick Bills says one store’s anti-smoking message will only go so far. “I personally feel that if a smoker really wants a cigarette, he’s going to find it, whether it’s at a grocery store or a 7-Eleven,” he said.

But Dan’s Foods, which also owns Maceys and Dick’s Market, is saying “no” to all tobacco products as of June 1.

Company president Dave Wirthlin says tobacco doesn’t fit into the healthy environment the store is cultivating these days. “We’ve made a decision from a health standpoint that we don’t want to participate in that product,” he said.

Unlike alcohol, Wirthlin says tobacco is unhealthy at any dose. “Alcohol, used in moderation, doesn’t have the same amount of risks, anything close to what tobacco does,” he said.

Wirthlin knows there could be frustration and lost sales, but his board of directors is willing to take that hit.

Statewide, the tax on tobacco products adds up to a hefty sum: more than $46 million for cigarettes this year, $7.3 million in taxes on other tobacco products, like chew. If all tobacco sales were to be snuffed, that could mean a $53.8 million hit to the general fund.

In the long run, revenue is more likely affected by a new generation of young people already aware of the possible consequences of the tobacco habit. “It doesn’t just damage people that smoke, it damages us and everyone around,” said high school senior Emily Dunn.

Abby Barth, also a high school senior, said, “I just choose not to be around it at all, and I don’t support it whatsoever.”

Other stores may or may not follow suit. There is increased competition from health stores, like Whole Foods, which do not sell tobacco.