Saint Paul, Minnesota Says No To Candy Cigarettes And Bubblegum Cigars - And It's No Joke!

     I have never taken a puff of a cigarette.  As a young kid, as a teenager or as an adult, I just never had the desire.  But I LOVE candy.  Always did.  Still do.

     One of the sugary treats that would satisfy my sweet tooth when I was a small child was a candy cigarette.  Although some of my friends would appear to mimic their parents by holding it like a real tobacco cigarette, I just stuck it in my mouth, sucked on it a bit like a lollipop and then chewed it up.  I never envisioned those crunchy confections as a substitute for the real smokes.  And although some kids perhaps did, I'm sure there are many who didn't.  But that was 50 years ago when smoking cigarettes was made to look glamorous on television and in the movies.  Of course, it's not anymore.

     Another tasty tidbit that was sold in my local sweet shop was the bubblegum cigar.  They came in a variety of colors including blue, pink, yellow and green - just to name a few.  The bubblegum stogies were full of delightfully fruitful flavor and with them you could blow the biggest bubbles. But I certainly didn't walk around the neighborhood pretending I was smoking my grandfather's good Havana.

     In Saint Paul, Minnesota last month, an old fashioned soda fountain shop - straight out of It's A Wonderful Life (without the pharmacy) - was given a strict warning by city officials to stop selling the novelty candy cigarettes, bubblegum cigars and other tobacco-themed goodies or else risk a misdemeanor citation and a fine of $500.

     When I first read about this story, I thought to myself - "This is a joke, right?  This has got to be a joke."

     But according to authorities in Saint Paul, this is no joking matter, there's nothing funny going on, and nobody's laughing.  Saint Paul officials say the warning was the result of inspectors investigating a complaint about the old-time candy store selling products that resemble actual cigarettes and other tobacco wares.  A published report notes that selling these kinds of vendibles violates a city ordinance barring the sale of candy cigs. The ordinance was reportedly enacted to discourage youngsters from lighting up real smokes.

    The owner of the Minnesota shop says she was surprised by the city's warning.  Tobi Lynden, who opened her Saint Paul business - Lynden's Soda Fountain - in April 2012, says the candy cigarettes were best selling items and were mostly purchased by adults, not children.

     I'm 57 years old and - as I wrote at the outset of this essay - I enjoyed candy cigarettes and bubblegum cigars as a child, but I have never smoked.  Not ever.  Hmm.  How is that possible?

     I cannot believe that any child is going to begin a habit of smoking tobacco - of any kind - because of candy cigarettes and bubblegum cigars.  The addiction to cigarette smoking is the result of a continual dosage and ultimate dependence on nicotine.  It's not a psychological effect.  If that were the case then the following would be my recommendation to moms and dads, to "Uncle Sam" and to local and state governments all across America.

     Let's make candy that looks like the vegetables and fruits in the farmer's market.  We can produce everything from candy carrots and cauliflower, to bubblegum broccoli and brussels sprouts.  To use a phrase made famous by comedian Jon Lovitz when he was one of the stars of NBC's Saturday Night Live - "Yeah...that's the ticket!"

     That way by kids eating their veggie candies they'll be duped in to eating real vegetables; and maybe the obesity rate for our children will dramatically decrease.

     Now is there anyone out there that really believes that could be possible? Nah!  I don't think so.

     And that's The Controversy for today.

     I'm Gary B. Duglin.

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