Walgreen suit over San Francisco tobacco ban revived

Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, can proceed with a lawsuit challenging San Francisco's first-in-the-nation law banning sales of tobacco products in some pharmacies, a California appeals court ruled.

The ordinance, passed in 2008 on the premise that drugstore cigarette sales convey tacit approval of smoking, barred tobacco sales at drugstores. The law doesn't apply to grocery and warehouse stores, including Safeway Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp., which also have pharmacies.

Yesterday's ruling reversed a San Francisco judge's decision to dismiss Walgreen's case.

Deerfield-based Walgreen claims the city's law is anticompetitive.

The case is Walgreen v. City and County of San Francisco, A123891, California Court of Appeal (San Francisco).