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A top U.S. regulator wants to meet with Walgreens leaders to discuss whether the drugstore chain has a problem with illegal tobacco sales to minors. Scott Gottlieb of the Food and Drug Administration said Monday Walgreens is a top violator among drugstores that sell tobacco products including cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes. He says inspectors have found nearly 1,800 instances since 2010 in which one of the company's stores violated the law. (3/4)

The agency said its undercover inspection program had turned up high rates of tobacco violations at numerous retailers. Illegal sales of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to young people were even higher at other national gas station and convenience store chains, the agency found, but it singled out Walgreens for its harshest criticism. “The company’s stores have racked up almost 1,800 violations across the country,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the agency’s commissioner, in a statement. “Both the rate of violations and sheer volume of violative inspections of Walgreens stores are disturbing, particularly since the company positions itself as a health-and-wellness-minded business.” (Kaplan, 3/4)

Gas stations run under the Exxon Mobil, BP and Sunoco brands ranked worst, with violations found at 35 percent to 44 percent of all inspected stores, according to a statement from the agency. Walmart’s and Kroger’s violations fell in the 15 percent to 24 percent range. Many of the gas stations are owned by franchisees. (Edney, 3/4)

Gottlieb also requested a meeting with the corporate management of Walgreens “to discuss whether there is a corporate-wide issue related to their stores’ track record of violating the law by illegally selling tobacco products to kids.” FDA first requested a meeting last month, after the agency said the company’s stores racked up almost 1,800 violations across the country. FDA said 22 percent of the 6,350 stores it has inspected — or 1,397 locations — sold tobacco products to minors, making Walgreens the top violator among pharmacy chains. (Weixel, 3/4)