Walgreens Investors Dismiss Bid Targeting Cigarette Pollution

Walgreens Boots Alliance shareholders voted against a proposal that pushed the pharmacy chain to do more to prevent environmental damage from the cigarettes it sells.

The bid, brought at the company’s annual meeting on Thursday by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, asked Walgreens to educate customers about the best ways to dispose of cigarettes after use.

Cigarette butts are the most common form of litter, the bid said, citing a National Institutes of Health report investigating how cigarette waste could present ecological risks to fish. The proposal also cited a World Health Organization statement warning that cigarettes contribute ...