Two dozen state attorneys general are urging five major retailers with pharmacies to drop tobacco, calling on them to follow the lead of CVS Caremark Corp., which said last month it would stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products by October.

"Pharmacies and drugstores, which increasingly market themselves as a source for community health care, send a mixed message by continuing to sell deadly tobacco products," said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in a statement Monday.

Attorneys general from New York, Ohio, Arizona, Mississippi and 20 other states sent letters to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walgreen Co., Rite Aid Corp., Kroger Co. and Safeway Inc. on Friday, urging them to cease tobacco sales. The government estimates 480,000 Americans die from smoking annually.

Stores with pharmacies represent a small slice of tobacco sales. About 85% of U.S. cigarettes are bought at gas stations, convenience stores or specialty tobacco stores, according to Euromonitor. There was no indication Monday that the retailers would stop selling tobacco, and the attorneys general aren't taking any immediate legal steps to force action.

Still, the request puts new pressure on the $100 billion U.S. tobacco industry, which is grappling with slumping sales, rising taxes, widening smoking bans and new public-information campaigns on the perils of tobacco. Cigarette consumption contracted about 4% last year.

CVS estimated last month it would lose $2 billion in annual revenue from tobacco and other sundries by destocking its shelves but said the products had no place in a drugstore company that is trying to become more of a health-care provider amid an expected shortage of primary care doctors.

Since 2008, San Francisco, Boston and more than a dozen towns in Massachusetts have banned retail pharmacies from selling tobacco products.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said the company is currently reviewing the letter from the state attorneys general, which it received on Sunday, but declined to comment on whether it might end tobacco sales. The retailer has steered away from previous legislative attempts to ban cigarettes, indicating that customer preferences dictate what it sells at its stores.

Rite Aid said in a statement it is "always evaluating options and programs for our stores and our customers." The pharmacy chain added it "offers a wide variety of smoking cessation products and provides additional resources, including our pharmacists, who are available to counsel people trying to stop smoking."

Kroger said in a statement that it has "a great deal of respect" for state attorneys general and that it intends to "carefully review their letter."

Walgreen said it is reviewing the letter but declined to comment further. Safeway didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Andrew Friedman, a spokesman for New York Attorney General Schneiderman, said there were no immediate plans to try to legally force the five national retailers to drop tobacco. But he said additional pressure, including legal reforms or litigation, hadn't been ruled out at a later date.

Attorneys general of four U.S. territories and districts, including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, also signed Friday's letter.

Shelly Banjo and Annie Gasparro contributed to this article.

Write to Mike Esterl at mike.esterl@wsj.com

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