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Health Care Industry

Do candy cigarettes encourage young people to smoke?

British Medical Journal, August 5, 2000 by Jonathan D Klein, Steve St Clair

Advocates of public health care consider candy cigarettes (cigarette sweets) one example of the way in which international trademark or copyright laws are violated to promote tobacco products to children.[1 2] People with vested interests in confectionery and tobacco have denied these claims and argued that restrictions on confectionery resembling tobacco products are unnecessary. We review recently available documents from the tobacco industry, which describe cooperation between the manufacturers of tobacco and candy cigarettes, ineffectual trademark enforcement, evidence that candy cigarettes may promote smoking, suppression of unfavourable findings from research sponsored by the confectionery industry, and successful attempts to avoid legislation or regulation.

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Methods

We searched for items referring to "candy cigarettes" and related terms from several sources. We identified public documents, government records, and journal articles by using Nexis to search news articles in English from 1980 to 1999. We also searched indexed documents from the files of American Tobacco, the Council for Tobacco Research, the Tobacco Institute, Lorillard, Philip Morris, R J Reynolds, and Brown and Williamson (collected at the Minnesota Tobacco Document Depository). Of 571 documents identified, most were summaries of proceedings of distributor associations for tobacco and confectionery containing no references to candy cigarettes; 153 documents addressed candy cigarettes, and these were analysed. Additionally, we searched Medline (1964 to date), Westlaw, a legal database of US court decisions, and the files of the Iowa Department of Justice, which in 1997-8 had examined candy cigarettes as an influence on under-age smoking.[3]

The candy cigarette industry

The earliest days of the US candy cigarette industry are obscure; however, Victoria Sweets, "the home of chocolate cigarettes" claimed to be "the original manufacturers of Kiddie cigarettes since 1915."[4] By 1939, cigarette makers authorised the use of cigarette pack designs on packs for candy cigarettes.[4] One confectioner boasted "[w]e put out the candy cigaret packs by the millions," touting "the tremendous advertising factor" to "coming up cigaret smokers."[4]

Currently, the two major producers of candy cigarettes in the United States are Stark (acquired by New England Confectionery in 1990[5]) and World Candies. Several of the candy cigarette packs produced by New England Confectionery, which imitate Brown and Williamson cigarette brands, purchased in 1994 in New York State are shown in the figure. Today, New England Confectionery calls its candy cigarettes "candy stix."[5] Candy cigarettes produced by World Candies have been sold under names that mimic cigarette brands, including Marlboro, Winston, Salem, More, and Vantage.[6 7] World Candies also sells bubble gum cigarettes. These are wrapped in white paper, with brown paper resembling a filter at one end. When a child blows through the product, confectioners' sugar billows out of the end like smoke. By 1997-8, candy cigarette packs no longer exactly duplicated particular cigarette brand names, but design features resembling cigarette packs persisted.[5 6] Nevertheless, at the time, the presidents of World Candies and New England Confectionery denied that their companies made products that could be considered candy cigarettes.[5 6]

The suggested retail price for a pack of candy cigarettes produced by World Candies or New England Confectionery is between 10 cents and 15 cents (15p and 23p respectively).[5 6] Miniature versions, often marketed during Halloween, contain two white candy sticks each with red dye at one end at a suggested price of 5 cents (7p).[8] These prices are low compared with other candy or gum products for children.[8-10] Although little is written about the market for candy cigarettes, in 1967 World Candies said that candy cigarettes were consumed mostly by children between the ages of 4 and 8.[9]

Low prices make candy cigarettes more affordable than other confectionery, an important feature for products marketed to young consumers. Candy cigarettes often escape adults' notice because they are usually displayed on the lowest shelves in the shop.[10] But candy cigarettes are not hard to find. In Iowa, three large convenience store chains, with more than 500 outlets, sell candy cigarettes.[3]

Impact of surgeon general's report

Just before the surgeon general's 1964 report on smoking and health, the National Automatic Merchandising Association Special Committee on Cigarette Vending wrote to tobacco manufacturers. It had just discovered candy cigarettes in packs "so real looking it's startling" and was concerned that this would add "another argument to bolster the claim that the tobacco companies are "`trying to lure youngsters into the smoking habit.'"[11] Although dismissing such charges as ridiculous, the committee warned tobacco companies to withdraw permission for use of brand names and packaging for candy cigarettes and to take steps to prevent their unauthorised use.[11]

Health Care Industry

Do candy cigarettes encourage young people to smoke?

British Medical Journal, August 5, 2000 by Jonathan D Klein, Steve St Clair

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