Ridiculous Candy #3 - The Candy Cigarette;

Do we really need any commentary with this one?

No, seriously, I think it is a good idea to get kids into mock smoking at a very young age because that will make the transition to Marlboros a lot easier in junior high. The funny thing is that we have all tried these silly candies. They were typically made by some cheapo confectioner, and if you remember correctly, they were essentially mint-flavored sticks of chalk. I remember when I first saw these treats (I think it was in the candy parlor of Farrell's Ice Cream—do you remember this place?) and my eyes popped out of my head—Wow! Cigarettes for kids! It even had the red-striped plastic wrapper and it had a cool dust that you could "blow."

Personally, this was a big leap for Rusty Dobbs and me (Rusty was my red-haired best friend during the formative years of the 70's) because we no longer had to "pretend" to smoke with McDonald's french fries. Yup! Now we were really smoking. As a dentist, I consider cavities as the candy cigarette version of cancer.

"Sir, you have twelve cavities..."

"I know, I've been addicted to the candy cigarettes...I eat a pack a day."

Quietly making noise, Fletch