As of: 11/16/2022 8:24 a.m
US shopping giant Walmart has accepted a $3.1 billion settlement. The company is accused of being partly responsible for the opioid addiction of millions of people.
In the course of the opioid crisis in the USA, the retail group Walmart pays $3.1 billion in damages. The shopping giant, which also operates pharmacies in its stores, accepted a corresponding settlement to settle proceedings for alleged complicity in the opioid crisis in the USA.
States, municipalities, cities and Native American tribes accuse operators of large pharmacy chains such as Walmart, CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid of having exacerbated the devastating drug abuse in the USA through a lack of control over the trade in painkillers.
Companies deny blame for opioid crisis
The companies deny the allegations, claiming they only sold pills prescribed by doctors. Walmart stressed that the settlement was not an admission of guilt.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James said pharmacies played an “undeniable role” in the “destruction” wrought by opioids. The settlement that has now been agreed contains numerous specifications for “significant improvements in how Walmart’s pharmacies deal with opioids”.
Declining life expectancy in the US
Before the Walmart settlement, which has now become known, the pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens had already agreed to pay five billion dollars each. In the past 20 years, 500,000 Americans may have died as a result of addiction to painkillers.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, average life expectancy in the United States has fallen in recent years at its lowest rate in almost 100 years. While Americans lived on average 79 years in 2019, in 2021 it was only 76 years. The health authority CDC attributes this not only to the corona pandemic, but also to the increased drug use of Americans and suicides.
Walmart stock jumps
Meanwhile, the now-agreed $3.1 billion opioid settlement has pulled Walmart’s balance sheet deep into the red for the past quarter. The bottom line was a net loss of $1.8 billion. The Walmart numbers were still well received on the stock exchange.
A raised forecast and the announcement of a share buyback program created a buying mood, Walmart shares ended trading on Wall Street up 6.5 percent. The investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have raised their price targets for the papers listed in the US leading index Dow Jones.