CVS Caremark Corp said this week that it would stop selling tobacco products at its 7,600 stores by October, becoming the first national drugstore chain in the United States to take cigarettes off the shelves.

Public health experts called the decision by the No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain a precedent-setting step that could pressure other retailers to follow suit. It comes at a time when pharmacies are taking on a much bigger role in healthcare.

President Barack Obama, a former smoker, praised the move, saying CVS had set a powerful example on Wednesday.

“Today’s decision will help advance my Administration’s efforts to reduce tobacco-related deaths, cancer, and heart disease, as well as bring down healthcare costs,” Obama said in a statement.

CVS, whose Caremark unit is a major pharmacy benefits manager for corporations and the U.S. government’s Medicare program, said the decision would strengthen its position as a healthcare provider.

Pharmacists have had a long tradition of being a source of community health information, a tradition drugstore chains have embraced by putting walk-in clinics in their stores.

CVS started its MinuteClinic retail health centers in 2000 and is now the largest U.S. pharmacy healthcare provider, with more than 800 locations across 28 states and the District of Columbia.

Some U.S. cities, including Boston and San Francisco, already ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies, but nonsmoking advocates hope the voluntary move by CVS will have a ripple effect across other drugstore chains.

Walgreen Co, the largest pharmacy chain, and third-ranked Rite Aid Corp said they would still sell cigarettes for now but would continue to evaluate the product category.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which is the world’s largest retailer and sells cigarettes, declined to comment.

Although adult smoking rates have fallen from 43 percent of Americans in 1965 to 18 percent currently, the habit remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 people each year.