We went west last weekend (the Partner in Crime and I) into mountain country.It was lovely. Fall foliage was probably at peak peakness -- but I'll get into that later.
This post is about what I found at a local tourist trap. We were browsing (i.e.-waiting in line for the bathroom) when I stumbled across these (see photo): candy cigarettes!
I was horrified! Marketing tobacco products to children! Shameless! Where's the management? This must stop!
Then I caught myself. These are probably the same brand of candy cigarettes I "smoked" with my cousins as a child. Didn't we feel grown-up as we emulated our elders. (All my aunts and uncles smoked -- many still do.) Surely they're harmless.
Then I caught myself again: I'm a smoker. Am I a smoker, in part, due to the de-sensitization I experienced as a child? Is there any truth to the theories that trending-toward-addiction is hereditary? What do they taste like now?
So the pop culture whore in me took over, I bought a pack (here in NC they're more expensive than REAL cigarettes, go figure) and posed outside the store for the picture you see to the left.
Now I wonder what my brother's children would make of candy cigarettes. As far as I know, they're not aware of my nicotine-laden habits and none of the adults in their immediate circle smokes.
We're going up north for Xmas, maybe I'll take them along and do an experiment.
UPDATE: Oh my god! I just strolled through the website of the tourist trap -- where they list this item not as candy cigarettes, but as candy "sticks". Sigh. Where's the integrity in that?
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