Candy Cigarettes Pose a Problem for Kids
Without intervention, consequences can be huge for years to come

(HealthDay News) -- Parents who let their children "smoke" candy cigarettes may be increasing the chances that their kids will become real smokers when they grow up.

Researchers have found that "the risk of becoming a smoker is associated with using candy cigarettes," Dr. Jonathan Klein, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester , told HealthDay .

The conclusion stemmed from a survey of almost 26,000 adults who were questioned about their smoking habits, including whether they had "puffed" on candy cigarettes as children.

About 12 percent of the respondents who said they'd never had a candy cigarette as a child were current or former smokers at the time of the survey, compared with 22 percent of those who said they'd had candy cigarettes as children. Only 14 percent of adults who said they had candy cigarettes as youngsters reported never having smoked.

The study also found that the more often someone consumed candy cigarettes as a child, the more likely they were to become a smoker.

The findings were published in the journal Preventive Medicine .

Candy cigarettes, typically sold in boxes resembling cigarette packs, are widely available in supermarkets or convenience stores across the United States . Klein said that this availability dovetails closely with tobacco industry pressures on children.

"It allows the marketing that goes into tobacco advertising to operate on children long before they have access to cigarettes," he said. "These candy products promote smoking as a socially acceptable activity."

Klein said parents need to be aware that consuming candy cigarettes can influence whether a child will become a smoker later in life. In fact, he said, other research he's conducted has found that the use of candy cigarettes increased the risk of becoming a smoker fourfold.

Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said that parents shouldn't let children have candy cigarettes and that stores shouldn't sell them.

"It strikes me as insane that we would manufacture candy that would teach kids how to use a product that will kill half of them," McGoldrick told HealthDay . "It is completely irresponsible to be selling products that teach kids how to use what is ultimately a deadly product."

Candy cigarettes, he said, are simply starting kids down a path that leads to real smoking later in life.

"With tobacco companies introducing flavored cigarette products, it looks like the first step in a progression from learning and thinking it's cool to smoke cigarettes to moving up to the real thing and being addicted for a lifetime," McGoldrick said.

On the Web

To learn more about kids and tobacco, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Jonathan Klein, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.; Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Washington, D.C.; July 2007, Preventive Medicine
Author: Robert Preidt
Publication Date: June 30, 2008
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