Candy Cigarettes

Candy Cigarettes

We love our Vintage Candy at the Shop! The memories, the nostalgia...today I want to talk about one in particular: Candy Cigarettes. In the late 1890’s Candy Cigarettes made their first appearance in stores as simple sticks of Chocolate. They were introduced as a novelty item and have continued to be sold as such for 135 years!

It wasn’t until the 1920’s that they evolved to include Bubble Gum Cigarettes and the chalky, hard candy varieties that so many of us grew up on. For the majority of their availability on the market, these white sticks also had red tips on the end and you could blow smoke out the end. They were made to resemble cigarettes and, for a period of time, were marketed to children with the encouragement to be like the adults in their lives. In fact, many cigarette companies eagerly provided the rights to their branding to be used on the boxes the smokes were packaged in.

I take a slight pause here to address how advertising has changed over the years. Until 1970, tobacco and hard alcohol were advertised everywhere: print, billboards, radio, TV – if it could be advertised on, they did it. How people perceived acceptable uses of advertising gimmicks evolved with that and it was no longer okay to target these ads to children. Yes, both industries targeted their ads to younger adults and children because they saw the investment in the next generation of users as a profitable move. (There are a lot of studies about the long term effects of said advertising if you want to dig into it deeper. For our discussion, I'm not.)

Every generation up until the Millennials grew up on Candy Cigarettes. As a child in the 70’s & 80’s we weren’t cool until we were walking around with our smokes and our cap guns shooting at animals, cars, each other. It was the time, it’s what we did and it was perfectly normal. Did that “condition” us to grow to be smokers and to engage in random shootings? Absolutely not! Did some us grow up to be smokers? Of course. That would have happened with or without Candy Cigarettes though. If you look at the kids that grew up to become smokers from my childhood, almost all of them came from homes where one or both parents (or an older sibling, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, a cool cousin) smoked. It wasn’t the fault of the candy and it was going to happen regardless.

That being said, in 2009 the production of Candy Cigarettes came to a screeching halt as the government sought to ban them. What came from that temporary ban was an agreement that they could still be produced, but could no longer contain any flavor other than menthol. Most manufacturers at the time also stopped adding the red dot on the end, as well as the ability to puff smoke out. This was seen as a preventative measure to avoid future litigation.

Some people are quick to point a finger of blame at the companies that made the Candy Cigarettes and that’s simply laughable. To believe that a child is so weak-minded that they are unable to tell the difference between a piece of candy and a real smoke is crazy. To believe that a child doesn’t have the wherewithal to not become groomed by a candy company is ludicrous. Kids are much smarter than these people give them credit for. Not to mention, the taste difference. No child in the world would think they tasted even remotely like a real cigarette.

Candy Cigarettes...love them or hate them, they are not marketed towards children. The vast majority of sales are done to adults that are simply reliving a moment of nostalgia from days long gone. Most kids think they’re weird and taste funny, but adults taste more than the actual candy – they’re tasting those carefree moments with their friends, a childhood long gone and a sense of freedom that comes from not having a care in the world. Nostalgic candy is about where it takes us, what it reminds us of and the smiles it brings. It's a simple, silly, sweet, little reminder of the things and times that helped make us who we are today.

Now to address the question we sometimes get: “Are you still selling Candy Cigarettes?” Absolutely. As long as we are able to get them, we will proudly carry them in our vintage candy section. Are we marketing them to children? No. We’re marketing them to people. Period.

We invite you to come into our store located inside the Historic Notus Garage & Merc in the heart of downtown Notus, ID (342 Elgin) or visit our online store (link below) to purchase. If you need a large amount, please contact us directly with a few days notice.

Thank you for your continued support!

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