Sen. Jeff Merkley is leading a crusade to take candy away from children – tobacco candy, that is.
The junior senator from Oregon’s target is an array of new tobacco products that look like breath mints and dissolve in the mouth, such as R.J. Reynolds’s “Camel Orbs,” currently being test-marketed in three cities including Portland.
In a video on his website, Merkley shows an Orbs package and explains how it’s designed to have the silhouette of a cell phone when carried in a pocket so parents and teachers can’t detect it.
The tablets come in two flavors, caramel (called “Mellow”) and mint (called “Fresh”). According to Merkley each one contains from 60% to 300% of the nicotine in a cigarette.
In the video, Merkley says tobacco companies “believe that in the future a lot of people aren’t going to smoke … so the goal is to hook a new generation of children on these tobacco candies. … Janitors are finding these [packages] in wastebaskets, so they’re definitely getting into the hands of children.”
Merkley and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) added an amendment to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act – signed into law by President Obama on Monday – that requires the new Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee to fast-track a study of the public health effects of tobacco candy and report its findings to the Food and Drug Administration.
Merkley and Brown’s ultimate goal is to force the tobacco candy off the market – a goal that The Eye supports 110%. If there’s any form of life lower than a tobacco company executive who markets candy to kids to get them addicted to nicotine, we hope we never encounter it.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2009.
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I cant belive that someone would do that to us kids and I speak for us all. Please keep doing research so that I know what not and what to eat. I’m a CANDY-A-HOLIC!!!
anything to push J&J nicotine candy huh?
* Nicorette Gum may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, or blurred vision. Do not drive, operate machinery, or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how you react to Nicorette Gum. Using Nicorette Gum alone, with certain other medicines, or with alcohol may lessen your ability to drive or perform other potentially dangerous tasks.
* Before you have any medical or dental treatments, emergency care, or surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are using Nicorette Gum.
* This gum may stick to dental work and damage it. If this occurs, stop using the gum and contact your dentist.
* Dispose of used pieces by wrapping and placing in the trash out of the reach of children and away from pets.
* Do not smoke or use tobacco products while using Nicorette Gum.
* Do not chew more than 24 pieces of gum a day unless advised to do so by your doctor.
* Nicorette Gum should be used as part of a larger program to help you stop smoking. If you need help choosing a program, talk with your health care provider.
* Use Nicorette Gum with extreme caution in CHILDREN. Safety and effectiveness have not been confirmed.
* PREGNANCY and BREAST-FEEDING: Nicorette Gum may cause harm to the fetus. If you think you may be pregnant, discuss with your doctor the benefits and risks of using Nicorette Gum during pregnancy. Nicorette Gum is excreted in breast milk. If you are or will be breast-feeding while you are using Nicorette Gum, check with your doctor or pharmacist to discuss the risks to your baby.
When used for long periods of time or at high doses, some people develop a need to continue taking Nicorette Gum. This is known as DEPENDENCE or addiction.
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Thanks for pointing that out, Binky. If these tobacco candies really have up to three times as much nicotine as a cigarette, a kid (or adult) who eats a lot of them in a short period could conceivably die. Cases of nicotine poisoning have been reported in children who chew nicotine gum,