Many will tell you that quitting the cigarette habit is tough.

But Target Stores have quit cold turkey.

Target announced last week that its chains will stop selling cigarettes by the end of this month. Apparently, the sale of tobacco products has become unprofitable for the Minneapolis-based company, which has 714 stores all across America.

Target representatives cited heavy shoplifting and anti-smoking regulations as the reason why sales of tobacco products are conducted in areas off-limits to minors.

The new campaign to limit teen smoking has apparently had major ramifications for the chain. It would be more admirable for Target to stop offering tobacco products because the chain was concerned about under-age smoking and the health of all of its customers. Other chains will remain in the tobacco business, however. Neither Wal-Mart, K-Mart nor Southland have plans to abandon their tobacco enterprises. But while Target’s move seems to be based more on the bottom line than on health concerns, it does raise some interesting questions:

Is the sale of cigarettes at Target becoming more unprofitable solely because of the new attempt to curb under-age smoking, or is it because there is less demand for tobacco products?

If the unprofitability of being in the tobacco business is a result of governmental sanctions, does this interfere with the business endeavors of both chains such as Target and companies that manufacture cigarettes?

Should the government interfere with the creation, packaging and sale of a product that has been undeniably linked to cancer, emphysema and a host of other illnesses?

How can the government restrict the sale of a product that is still legal? If it is because of health risks, why isn’t the product outlawed?

You can be sure this debate is far from over. But until the issue of what takes precedence—health, safety or the rights and limits of a company to manufacture a product are fully addressed, this battle will rage on with no end in sight.