When CVS made the decision to forego tobacco sales, the estimated $2 billion in annual revenues it gave up amounts to more than twice the amount of money ACS collects in a year (The Cancer Letter, Feb. 7). However, ACS positions itself as the vanguard of tobacco control, and critics say that close association with a retailer that profits from tobacco undermines the society’s own goals and harms its brand.
The American Cancer Society’s 2026 annual statistics report trumpets a symbolic milestone for oncology—for the first time, the five-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined has reached 70% for people diagnosed between 2015 and 2021 in the U.S.
