A recently passed city order that bans sales of tobacco products at pharmacies in San Francisco is being legally challenged by Walgreen Company, a leading drug-store chain that operates in 49 states, serving, through their 6,252 pharmacies, a number of 5 million customers per day.

The lawsuit, which was filed in state court in San Francisco on Monday, advocates that the order is illegal due to the fact that it does not apply to grocery stores that have drugstores and sell tobacco. Consequently, Walgreen wants that the order be declared unconstitutional and improperly adopted, thus preventing its enforcement.

On September 30, a hearing in this case has been scheduled, just one day before the ordinance was to come into effect.

After San Francisco became the first city in the country to ban cigarette sales at pharmacies, it has been announced that Boston was also taking into account passing a similar order over the sale of tobacco products. The law would also ban selling cigarettes on college campuses. The law introduced in San Francisco by Mayor Gavin Newsom was approved by two 8 to 3 votes by the city’s board of supervisors, the San Francisco Public Health Department advocating that, by selling cigarettes, pharmacies were sending customers conflicting messages.

The ban will affect 52 Walgreen drugstores that are currently selling tobacco products but, as the company’s spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce stated, are also offering advice to smokers on methods and products designed to help them kick the habit. Furthermore, Bruce added that the order would discourage smokers to seek counseling on quitting.