Nuh-uh! I couldn't believe this when I saw it. The highly regarded British Medical Journal actually published a study entitled, "Do candy cigarettes encourage young people to smoke?"

As a health writer, I usually have to slog through pages and pages of dull medical crapola, so this was a welcome diversion. The study actually has some interesting historical tidbits in it, like this:

Currently, the two major producers of candy cigarettes in the United States are Stark (acquired by New England Confectionery in 1990) and World Candies. Today, New England Confectionery calls its candy cigarettes "candy stix."

and this:

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.

and this:

The Connecticut Consumer Protection Commissioner publicly criticised candy cigarettes in November 1993, as part of "a barrage of symbols" that glorify smoking. In response, an attorney for World Candies stated they would "resist all efforts" to remove their "fun healthy foods" from the market just because they are "alleged to resemble tobacco products . . . ."

Hey, I'm all for sticking up for the rights of candy companies, but seriously... candy cigarettes are "fun healthy foods"? Bwahaha!

In any case, the study concluded that yes indeed, candy cigarettes do encourage young people to smoke. So where does Madam Yum Yum fit into the study, you ask? Oh fine. You knew I was holding back on you in the previous post, didn't you. Yes, the young Miss Yum Yum did enjoy her share of candy cigarettes and yes, she did experiment with smoking at a young age (including falling into the "wrong crowd" in 4th grade and helping them hide cigarettes in the last stall in the girls' bathroom, and encouraging the Baroness to try smoking maple leaves because, hey, tobacco is a leaf, right?) But now she knows it's a filthy disgusting habit (not to mention expensive) and if she ever sees anything besides "candy stix" between the Sugar Baby's lips she will beat the fun healthy food out of him.

Got a gummi match?

For some reason, I woke up this morning thinking about candy cigarettes. What a bizarre concept. Think about it-- it's like having candy booze bottles or gummi rolling paper. Who came up with the idea to make cigarettes out of candy??
When I was little there were three different types. First, the skinny, chalky sticks with the red "ash" on the end. They tasted terrible and didn't even look like cigarettes. Then there were the gum ones. They were the size of a real cig and wrapped in paper. The gum was usually hard as a rock and flavorless. And then there was the granddaddy of them all: the chocolate cigarette. It looked like a real one and tasted pretty good. I think I only had these once, in fourth grade after school with my friend Jennifer. Of course, she was already smoking actual cigarettes so the chocolate ones were just pure candy to her, no novelty at all. Do they still make candy cigarettes? If so, how much longer will they do that?

Talking Vintage Movie Theater Candy With Guest Blogger Alexis Bonari

Today's post is from Yumster Alexis Bonari. She took a look back at candy at the movie theater.
Going to see a movie simply wouldn’t be the same without candy. From Sour Patch Kids to Nonpareils, there are nearly endless options for topping off your movie experience with a sugar-induced coma. While candy has always been standard fare for moviegoers, popular candies have changed over the years. Here are some examples of vintage movie theatre candy:

1940’s -M&M’s Plain Chocolate

M&M’s were first introduced to combat a decline in chocolate sales. After their success, the M&M Mars Corporation shortened their name to M&M’s. Thanks to the breakthrough candy coating, M&M’s were marketed as a “melt-free” chocolate. Movie theatres played a major role in the initial introduction of M&M’s onto the market.

1950’s- Chocolate Cigarettes

Until the late 1960’s, cigarette smoking wasn’t touted as unhealthy. Most children would have grown up with one or both parents lighting up on a regular basis. Kids generally like products that allow them to mimic the adults around them. It’s no surprise then that candy cigarettes were all the rage during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Movie theaters, carnivals, and dime stores all sold chocolate and gum renderings of cigarettes and cigars.

1960’s – Astronaut Ice Cream

The Apollo Project and other space missions were the height of cool in the 1960’s. In response, the producer of freeze dried foods for the space missions capitalized by making Astronaut Ice Cream available to the public. Ice Cream ingredients were freeze dried at -40 degrees F into edible cubes. These marvels of modern science were sold as promotional items during science fiction movies.

1970’s- Fizzies

One of the first true novelty candies, Fizzies were tablets that a child (or adult) could use to create their own soda pop. The directions were simple: combine one Fizzies tablet with a glass of ice water to create a new taste sensation. Flavors included root beer, blue razz, and lemonade.

The theatres that sold Fizzies undoubtedly paid the price in sticky floors after the fact, as the fizzing action could get a little bit out of hand.

Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She often can be found blogging about general education issues as well as information on college scholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Got a Light?

Check out this stash from The Connection-- bubblegum cigarettes and cigars. When I was little, these things were everywhere. It was just taken for granted that, at some point during your grammar school career, you'd get a pack of these and try to fool any adults who happened to be around into thinking that you were really smoking. Too cool for school.

There were various types. There were the bubblegum kinds, pictured above, that had the added bonus of a white powder inside that looked like smoke when you'd puff out on them. Then there were the candy kind, which were super-thin sticks of stypic pencils chalky candy with red tips. And when I reached fifth grade, I had the brilliant luck to stumble upon some chocolate cigarettes that looked real and tasted delicious.

So fast-forward to today and these things are shocking, SHOCKING! Candy tobacco products? Who would ever think of such a thing! So taboo.

I always loved the bubblegum cigars the best, so I was totally psyched to rip off a hunk and give it a chew. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as I remembered. In fact, once I got it masticated into a good, soft glob, it started tasting like the incense they burn in church at Christmastime. Not something you really want to eat.

I can't help but wonder about the fate of candy and bubblegum cigars and cigarettes. Will they be around in ten years? Will the Sugar Baby know the sly, giggly pleasure of trying to fool me into thinking he's in the backyard training to be the new Marlboro Man? Only time will tell. Perhaps I'll save one of these packages, just in case.

Kids Smoking Smarties?! That's Some Crazy Shizz!

A while back I wrote several entries about candy cigarettes, one of the staples of my childhood growing up in the '70s. Such a shocking candy! How could candy makers allow such a thing to exist? Did the candy versions promote smoking the real stuff? Scientific studies concluded that yes, they did glamorize smoking and therefore were evil.

Well my friends, leave it to the new generation to find something even more horrifying, more anarchist than candy cigarettes. Brace yourself: The Kids are "smoking" Smarties!

When I heard about this on a teaser for tonight's news, my first thought was that kids were crushing up Smarties and stuffing the powder into a pipe (or bowl or bong) and lighting up. Well, it's not *quite* so naughty. Apparently this is how it works: you take a roll of Smarties, crush them up in the package, inhale the dust and then blow it out your mouth and it looks like you're smoking. There's a fantastic how-to video here by 14-year-old Titus Williams (although he admittedly used Sassy Sours, a simliar product made by Copper Kettle Inc., which he says crush more easily).

Oh how I wish I was the reporter who broke this story. What a riot. Such a serious topic-- talking to the child "users," consulting doctors, consoling heart-broken parents. I've got to say, this has me laughing my Smartie Pants off. This article in the Wall St. Journal by Dionne Searcey is actually a really good piece of reporting. To wit:

"Last month, Mark Shikowitz, an ear, nose and throat doctor at
Schneider Children's Hospital in New Hyde Park, N.Y., treated a boy about 9
years old who complained his nose was burning because of a Smarties incident.
(His parents brought in a Smarties wrapper but weren't sure how he'd ingested
them.) Dr. Shikowitz determined that part of a Smarties must have lodged in the
boy's nose until it dissolved. The child wasn't harmed."

AND:

"Oren Friedman, a Mayo Clinic nose specialist, cautioned that frequent use could
lead to infections or even worse, albeit rare, conditions, such as maggots that
feed on sugary dust wedged inside the nose."

Now that's something to get freaked out about.
So Yumsters, have any of you ever tried to smoke candy? Maybe snorted Pixy Sticks? Here's your chance to dish the dirt.

Top Ten Candies That No One Actually Eats

A little while back I reported how a popular New Zealand candy was being discontinued and how it was causing a panic attack for several of my Kiwi friends. Some people say it's a marketing ploy by the company to draw more attention to Snifters, but no one knows for sure. In any case, it got me to thinking about some of our iconic childhood confections and how we would feel if they were discontinued here. I'm thinking about things like the aforementioned bubblegum cigarettes. Do any of us ever buy these? No. But we'd be distraught to find out that they went the way of the Marathon bar. So without further ado, I give you my:

Top Ten List of Childhood Favorites That No One Actually Eats But We All Seem To Love and We'd Be Distraught If They Were Discontinued

10. Bubblegum/candy cigarettes

9. Wax bottles

8. Wax lips

7. Candy buttons

6. Circus Peanuts

5. Boston Baked Beans

4. Bit o' Honey

3. Pixy Sticks

2. Chicklets

1. Necco Wafers

Do you agree?

The Birthday Haul

Here it is, the great Birthday Haul 2007. Up in the left-hand corner is some Penotti White Chocolate spread from Alex. Very intriguing. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I'm sure it'll be tasty. Then there's the candy cigarettes, which I've been told are for Henri. The cute pumpkin bag filled with M&Ms is long gone, as is the Green & Black's dark chocolate with orange. I also got a box of Godiva Chocoiste Dark Chocolate Raspberries that are really yummy.

The C-word

Now that I've been doing these little candy paintings, I've encountered a problem: so many candies begin with "C". I've already done Caramels and Candy Corn, but then there's also Circus Peanuts, Crows, Cordial Cherries, Candy Cigarettes and Cigars, Coconut Clusters ... not to mention everything that begins with "Candy" or "Chocolate." And then there are the trickier letters like "E" and "U" which only have one or two possibilities.

Whoopie!

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a blog that extolled the virtues of Maine whoopie pies. I don't even remember which blog it was, but I sent the link to the von Schokolats because this company offered lots of different flavors, including a chocolate-covered one and it looked YUM. (For those not familiar, a whoopie pie is traditionally two round layers of chocolate cake filled with vanilla cream. It's a Maine specialty, but apparently Oprah got a hold of one or two so now they're a "thing.")

The von Schokolats didn't waste any time and they hopped on the highway to procure some of these mystical beasts.

Without further ado, here's their review:

In short, a person from away might think these are "GREAT." But we polled true Mainers, and no one we talked to gave them a thumbs-up over a traditional homemade chocolate one with lard-filled white icing. Their downfall was that the cake was too spongy and tasted like preservatives. The company has a store in shopping hell-- Freeport, Maine. It was not easy to find unless you are looking for it. It is not on the main drag, but it is down a side road. I would not have found it if we were not looking for it. Save some time. Avoid Freeport and go to most of the gas stations in Maine. They can be found next to the lottery tickets, cigarettes and cash register.

Strawberry Whoopie - Tasted just like a Little Debbie "Jelly Log". Gretl's favorite. No chocolate

Orange Cream - Tasted just like an orange creamsicle.

Red Velvet - YUCK!!! Very Dry. The Baron could not even swallow his test sample. Spit it out. (Editor's note: I'm not sure I believe this.)

Vanilla Bean - Vanilla cookie with icing. Blah.

Banana - Tasted like a banana bread/muffin with cream filling. Does not taste like a Whoopie pie. Because of the new taste it was good.

Raspberry - Kinda like a Bismark (Maine dessert). Tasted like Vanilla Bean whoopie pie, but the more you chewed it the stronger the raspberry got.

Chocolate-covered Whoopie Pie - Liesel liked this one. Too much chocolate. It looked like an Oreo covered in chocolate. My opinion, give me an Oreo and some milk. The best one was the 72-ounce, larger than birthday cake size, traditional chocolate with vanilla icing. 17 Maine kids agreed and devoured it in one sitting.

Favorite Childhood Candies

I took an informal poll of some moms and asked them, "What was your favorite childhood candy?" Here are the results:

Fun Dip (loved the sticks!)
Candy cigarettes
Bulls eyes
Bar None
Pay Days
3-cent Jelly Royals
Wax Lips
Crunch
Marathon
Snickers
Licorice-- any kind, strings, wheels
Skor
Whatchamacallit

What was your favorite?

Random Candy Memory: Flying Saucers

I'm in first or second grade and I'm at my grammar school fair. There's a table where they're selling penny candy, and it's being manned by one of the sixth-graders. His breath smells strongly like oregano and tomato sauce from a frozen pizza. I wonder to myself why people like pizza so much. I don't like it at all.

I tell the boy which candy I want and he puts it into a brown paper lunch bag. I see the Flying Saucers for the first time. What are they? Little pastel UFOs that make noise when you shake them. I buy two. He asks me which colors I want, but I don't remember which I picked.

They're a marvel to look at, to shake. Not only a candy, but an amusement as well.

I take a bite. It's like flavorless styrofoam that melts into a pulpy mass in my mouth. Then the little sugary nonpareils mingle with it, giving it some taste. Fantastic!

These little UFOs (or, as they're known in more sophisticated circles, "Satellite Wafers"), are the type of candy that only kids eat. I mean, really, when's the last time you saw an adult with a bag of these? They're in the same category as wax bottles and candy cigarettes: a quintessential childhood/summer candy.

Sweet Treat of the Week: Michael Utzinger!

You're in for an extra special treat this week, dear Yumsters! This week’s Sweet Treat is Michael Utzinger, an Elliott Associate Professor of Religion at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, and author of Yet Saints Their Watch Are Keeping (2006).
Perhaps even more importantly, he is Madame Yum Yum’s soulmate when it comes to pop culture, convenience store foods and stories of dysfunctional families.

What is your favorite candy?
My favorite candy is “sea foam,” an airy sugar confection covered with dark chocolate. I grew up eating this candy in my hometown at McDonald’s Hand-made Candies 1064 S Getty St Muskegon, MI 49442; (231) 773-0319. Yes, this is an unapologetic endorsement. I should also add that they make a killer wintergreen chocolate-covered cream.

Share with us a childhood candy memory.

I remember buying ten packs of baseball cards, stacking all the gum, and trying to bite through all of the sticks. (I actually remember when they had gum in the packs). I also remember how much fun Pez dispensers were. And can anyone forget Pixy Sticks? You could even bite off both ends and blow sugar at your brothers.

Favorite fruit flavor in candy?

OK, I like sour apple. I don’t think it actually tastes like apple, but my kids hate the flavor, so I can eat in peace.

Which do you prefer: gummies or hard candies?

My grandfather gave up smoking after years of hard work at the C & O Railroad. He did it by replacing cigarettes with hard candy. I suspect I had a lot more years with him because of that. Plus, in Greece last summer my wife and I found ouzo flavored hard-candies. I like that anise flavor, even if they are colored blue.

What’s your favorite candy holiday?
Easter. I’ll admit that I love Cadbury eggs. Perhaps, I am simply the victim of brilliant marketing, but how can you resist them (and they are only here once a year). As a religion professor I also noticed that Walmart was marketing candy crucifixes this year. I suppose this is a candy version of “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” I ponder, however, what this suggests about American spirituality that a chocolate cross is a cultural retort for the commodification of a sacred holiday (all for only $2.95)?

What’s best: milk, dark or white?
Dark chocolate. Like wine and coffee, too much sugar destroys the natural goodness of the cocoa flavor. However, I have one caveat: milk chocolate and peanuts are a winning combination.

Circus Peanuts: yay or nay?
I know this is a trick question since marshmallows in cereals developed from the same technology as Circus Peanuts, and I like my Lucky Charms. Truthfully, however, if I wanted a candy that tasted like sweet chalk with the texture of Silly Putty, then Circus Peanuts would be the best way to get my fix.

Thanks Mike! We’ll look forward to the release of your next book, “Spirituality & Candy: Beyond Loaves and Swedish Fishes,” available soon at Walmarts everywhere.

Hey you! Yeah you! How would you like to be a future Sweet Treat of the Week? Come on, it’s fun! Just send an e-mail to candyyumyummail@yahoo.com and say, “Hey, I’d like to dish on some candy!”