The Deadly Little Secret: Candy Cigarettes
I was walking down the street in my hometown the other day and I saw a child walk out of a candy shop with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
That would be a “Victory” cigarette, a look-alike candy version of the real deadly tobacco kind. If the brand name Victory sounds familiar, it should, its toxic similarity to Viceroy cigarettes made by Brown & Williamson can’t be missed.
Where are those lawmakers stamping down on tobacco marketers, implementing tough legislation that gives the Food and Drug Administration sweeping control over how marketers package, manufacturer and market tobacco products?
The manufacturer of the candy the boy had, World Confections in Brooklyn, NY, markets the candies in packages that look just like packs of cigarettes with many of them named after tobacco products. Here’s another example. Candy cigarettes called Lucky Lights sure sound like and look a lot like Lucky Strikes.
I stopped into the store to see how the owner was marketing them. There were none on any of the shelves. The packs were all hidden away behind the counter. So moms had to ask for them, signaling to kids that something wasn’t exactly right, but whatever it was it was tantalizing, exciting, even daring.
The tobacco legislation is important. Ads for cigarettes and chew should be kept far away from young eyes and ears and if tobacco marketers can’t do it on their own, there should be regulation and enforcement. But what about the marketers and manufacturers of candy cigarettes? They need to be regulated too.
As for that young boy on the street? He moved on, blowing imaginary smoke rings as he went.
July 21st, 2009 at 9:40 am
I take it you haven’t seen the bubble gum chew packaged like Skoal.
July 21st, 2009 at 1:48 pm
How about the latest “smoking smarties” fad…tobacco companies must love it!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123750945477390601.html
July 21st, 2009 at 1:55 pm
C’mon. You can’t be serious. What’s next … the need to regulate squirt guns? The “real deals” of toy guns are deadly too. And, plenty of kids go around shooting each other with squirt guns.
However, I sincerely doubt that if there were no squirt guns, that gun violence would decrease… much like I sincerely doubt that if candy cigarettes went away that kids would be less likely to smoke.
Regulation isn’t the answer. It’s up to parents to regulate whether they will allow their kid to eat candy cigarettes, or play with squirt guns, or eat bubble gum packaged in a “chew tin.” If people stopped buying it, stores wouldn’t sell it, and manufacturers wouldn’t make it.
July 21st, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Patti:
Great little article. It definitely seems like there is a loop-hole here that needs to be closed. Thank you for pointing this subject out to all the marketers and advertising professionals out there.
-Christian
July 21st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
okay c’mon…
as kids in the ’70s we used to buy those white candy cigarettes as well as the ones that had paper and then gum inside. we used to pretend to be adults.
I never smoked real cigarettes, and neither do the little friends that we hung out with, that I still see from time to time.
could some kids have gone on to smoke real cigs? i don’t know, maybe.
i just know that when i tried to smoke a real cig, it didn’t taste like my little pieces of candy.
maybe it has the opposite affect.
kids expect the real stuff to taste like the candy, and when it doesn’t, then you don’t want it?
ever think of that?
July 21st, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I agree with M Schuster - you must be kidding. I “smoked” several of these when I was a young boy and think they are still really cool. I have never smoked (not even the other “legal in California for Medicinal purposes stuff”) nor am I an candy addict!
Stop the regulation now - a kid can’t even ride in the back of the rear window of the car and look out at the stars anymore because we have regulations that stipulate they are locked in those horrible seats until they are 18 or 200 pounds! I survived the ride without car seats and seat belts and “smoked” many of those fake cirgarettes as a child.
Give it up an take up a topic worth while.
July 21st, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Full disclaimer: when I was a kid both my parents smoked. I thought the chocolate candy cigarettes from Fanny Farmer were the height of sophisitcation and coolness.
Flash forward to 2009 when we’re all (hopefully) a bit more enlightened….
I saw exactly the candy Patty discusses on sale in a candy shop last month when I was on vacation in Cape Cod and was horrified. I couldn’t believe they were still made or sold, let alone the fact that some parents must find it amusing to buy them for their kids.
Of course, kids today are taught so early on that smoking is unhealthy and quite frankly, gross. I think my kids would tell anyone offering them these candies to take a hike.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Light Up a Little - I mean Lighten Up a Little. These things have been around since I was a kid - AKA a long time ago. While you might be right about there being some small connection between such childish and I suspect largely harmless behavior, the link is almost certainly minimal and there are bigger fish to fry as they say.
You really brought back some memories though - the bubble gum ones actually shot out smoke out of the end - thought it was really cool - never considered smoking the real stuff as it was clear the real stuff would kill you - the gum just got stuck in other kids’ hair every once in a while. Used squirt guns as well - and have don’t even own a real gun.
Loved the article though - really fun to think back on such childhood memories.
July 22nd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I “Smoked” the candy cigars as a kid, and once in awhile I enjoy a real one. I think they need to tax the candy fags and stogies as if they were real….
August 10th, 2009 at 1:10 am
How many of us would hand a cigarette to a child? Probably not many. Smokers and non-smokers agree that kids should not take up the habit. Smoking is highly addictive, harmful to health, and bad for the environment. The majority of smokers want to quit, but can’t. Quitting is so much harder than not starting at all. For this reason, stores in the United States are not allowed to sell tobacco to children, and companies are not allowed to target children in their advertising. In some countries overseas it’s a different story: big tobacco companies entice the next generation of tobacco addicts by holding youth-oriented events, where kids are given t-shirts and toys with tobacco brand labels. Tobacco company jingles are among the songs those kids learn during childhood. Tobacco companies have evidently found that their advertising dollars are well spent.
Candy cigarettes, however, are one way that tobacco is still promoted to kids here in he U.S. They are packaged just like real cigarettes, and are often (in my experience) on display at a convenient height for youngsters to see. Some of those sold make their way into the hands of children, who are left with a playful and very sweet impression of what it feels like to smoke. I do not claim that smoking a candy cigarette will invariably lead to tobacco addiction – but it is a good start. Store owners, managers, clerks, and customers should thoughtfully consider whether they want any child’s happy memories to include make-believe smoking.