Kroger, Walgreens to stop selling e-cigarettes

COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Kroger announced Monday it will discontinue the sale of electronic cigarettes.

The company issued the following statement:

Kroger is discontinuing the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products, or e-cigarettes, at all store and fuel center locations due to the mounting questions and increasingly-complex regulatory environment associated with these products. The company will exit this category after selling through its current inventory. 

Walgreens also announced Monday it would discontinue sales of e-cigarettes at their stores nationwide, citing an uncertain regulatory environment.

The vaping industry has come under scrutiny after hundreds of people have fallen ill and at least eight have died after using vaping devices.

Walmart announced last month that it would stop selling e-cigarettes at its stores nationwide.

Kroger said it would stop selling e-cigarettes as soon at its current inventory runs out at its more than 2,700 stores and 1,500 fuel centers. The Cincinnati-based company operates the Ralphs, Harris Teeter and other stores.

Walgreens, based in Deerfield, Illinois, operates more than 9,500 stores in the U.S.