The ordinance, which went into effect Oct. 1, is the first ban of its kind in the country.

Attorneys for the Deerfield, Ill.-based pharmacy chain had argued San Francisco’s ordinance violated equal protection laws because the ban exempts supermarkets like Safeway and "big box" retail stores like Costco, which also contain pharmacies and sell cigarettes.

Pharmacies such as Walgreens, which operates more than 50 stores in San Francisco, and Rite Aid, are included in the ban, as well as smaller independently owned pharmacies.

San Francisco Health Department policymakers have defended the exemption, arguing pharmacies, as health-promoting businesses, should not implicitly endorse cigarette smoking, considered the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The larger stores do not explicitly market themselves in the same way, they said.

But they have also stated that broadening the ban on tobacco sales could be considered in the future in San Francisco.

Philip Morris has appealed the ruling.