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Smoking Smarties

Will Smoking Smarties Encourage Teens to Smoke Cigarettes?

March 27, 2009

Smoking Smarties is the newest fad among young teens. It involves crushing a packet of Smarties candies while still in their cylindrical wrapper, inhaling the sugary powder, and exhaling it so it looks like smoke from a cigarette. The idea is to puff on this imitation cigarette like you would a cigar, just inhaling the sugar into your mouth, not into your lungs. Of course if kids do inhale the ground up candy into their lungs, they'll end up coughing, but this is not where the harm lies. The true concern is what this ritual may promote. Check out the CBS News video below to hear more.

Experts are concerned that pretending to smoke Smarties will lead to smoking real cigarettes, which will lead to all the health problems associated with it. What's your opinion?

33 Comments

2 years 28 weeks

oh you guys give it a break!!!!! Were kids!!!! Calm down I mean it's not like were gonna go pick up a cigar and smoke it. Were smarter than that. So people calm down I mean no matter what yall say online it's not gonna effect what were doing now.

3 years 25 weeks

Well Hey There World (: Hmm , I Am A Teen And In My School There Are Alot Of People Smoking Smarties ! I Just Want You Guys To Get A Teen In Middle School's Opinion . MMkaysx ? Well At First I Didn't Know What The Guys At School Were Talking About Smoking Smarties ?! I Was Like WTH at First and Thought It Was Stupid . So I Only Tried ONCE at home . and i think its bad for you like the video says inhaling sugar in your lungs isn't good it just like inhaling smoke when your actually using a cigarette tobacooo right ? it kind of encouraqe the teens to smoke ? but like i said im not into those stuff . Consequense in my school is the teacher seee you = write up administrators = detention ISS

herfallingstar 4 years 8 weeks

inhaling anything that's not supposed to be smoked is never a good idea!To be honest, it depends on the person. Sure, kids are highly impressionable. But it always ends up that no matter how you try to bring them up, some will smoke and some won't.

herfallingstar 4 years 8 weeks

inhaling anything that's not supposed to be smoked is never a good idea! To be honest, it depends on the person. Sure, kids are highly impressionable. But it always ends up that no matter how you try to bring them up, some will smoke and some won't.

ELLEHUDSON 4 years 8 weeks

obviously this is not a positive reinforcement behind the fact that: cigarettes are bad!anniems - it's good that you never started smoking in "real life", but I also thought candy cigarettes were fun.. I thought it made me look grown up and glamorous(?!), and although I claimed to "hate cigarettes" and that i would "never smoke".. I ended up a smoking. I have spent the last 4 years quitting on and off, and it's been quite a struggle!!Today I'm on day 24 without!! (:

ELLEHUDSON 4 years 8 weeks

obviously this is not a positive reinforcement behind the fact that: cigarettes are bad! anniems - it's good that you never started smoking in "real life", but I also thought candy cigarettes were fun.. I thought it made me look grown up and glamorous(?!), and although I claimed to "hate cigarettes" and that i would "never smoke".. I ended up a smoking. I have spent the last 4 years quitting on and off, and it's been quite a struggle!! Today I'm on day 24 without!! (:

anniems 4 years 8 weeks

I have never smoked and I used to think candy cigarettes were the coolest.

LexyAn 4 years 8 weeks

those candy cigarettes were huge when i was a kid. i also rolled up paper and drew on it to make it appear as if it were a cigarette. i smoke now, but it wasn't because of those candy cigs. plus, if you really get down to it, the economy would take a very hard hit if everyone quit smoking. i know that's harsh, but i believe it to be true.

LexyAn 4 years 8 weeks

CoralAmber 4 years 8 weeks

When I was young it was not teens that played with the candy cigarettes, it's grade school kids. Teens have gotten over the novelty of it and it doesn't make them want to smoke. Ring pops didn't make me want to wear giant jewelry and stick it in my mouth when I grew up.

SKC Sparkle 4 years 8 weeks

Do teens really have nothing better to do than invent stupid "games"?

Spectra 4 years 8 weeks

Sounds pretty dumb to me...we had candy cigarettes as kids as well and we never smoked real cigs as teens. You're more likely to pick up smoking if your parents smoke because you have access to their REAL cigarettes pretty easily. I'm just wondering how many kids are going to try this and aspirate the Smartees dust into their lungs and get pneumonia from it. That'd be the real danger.

Spectra 4 years 8 weeks

LOVErickii 4 years 8 weeks

here in australia smartie are exactly like plain m&m's so i was intrigued with how one would smoke them... your 'smarties' are an entirely different form of candy...

witchbaby 4 years 8 weeks

When i was little I also loved the bubblegum "cigarettes" My dad is a smoker and although I hate the smell and taste of cigarettes I liked the candy because it was fun. I don't think I could smoke smarties looks way too stupid and bad for you if it gets in your lungs

minhoca 4 years 8 weeks

these kids are weak. in my day, i *snorted* them... bypassed the whole inhale and went straight to lungs. snort hard and experience the sugar flavor ride all over again. and no, ive never used cocaine.

minhoca 4 years 8 weeks

Renees3 4 years 8 weeks

The candy cigarettes were so awesome when I was a kid. We ALL loved them, all my friends and I was the only one that ended up smoking I think. But really that probably had more to do with the other bad things I was doing. I really don't think play cigarettes are going to make more smokers. Theres way more leading factors out there than candy

Jabbadoo 4 years 8 weeks

I loved the powder "smoke" from candy cigarettes when I was young.... thought I looked cool... but somehow didn't ever want to smoke for real. I have a mind!!!

jueycruiser 4 years 8 weeks

smarties are disgusting. not cause of the pretend smoking thing, they are just awful candy in general.

courtneyd 4 years 8 weeks

I loved (and still do) the bubblegum cigarettes that were rolled in paper and surrounded with powdered sugar. Blow and you get a puff of "smoke". It's fun. I can't stand cigarettes - horrible, filthy, disgusting taste and smell. The same goes for Big League Chew - loved it, but never once even *thought* Skoal sounded like a good idea to try.I can't imagine that the first time someone smokes a cigarette, they think, "Oh boy, this is great!" More likely it's peer pressure and the pressure to be cool and fit in with the crowd (or be the rebel in the crowd) that keeps them puffing away. Resisting that is more about your personality and your parents' and friends' influence, and less about whether or not you enjoyed some candy or bubblegum as a child.

courtneyd 4 years 8 weeks

I loved (and still do) the bubblegum cigarettes that were rolled in paper and surrounded with powdered sugar. Blow and you get a puff of "smoke". It's fun. I can't stand cigarettes - horrible, filthy, disgusting taste and smell. The same goes for Big League Chew - loved it, but never once even *thought* Skoal sounded like a good idea to try. I can't imagine that the first time someone smokes a cigarette, they think, "Oh boy, this is great!" More likely it's peer pressure and the pressure to be cool and fit in with the crowd (or be the rebel in the crowd) that keeps them puffing away. Resisting that is more about your personality and your parents' and friends' influence, and less about whether or not you enjoyed some candy or bubblegum as a child.