California Youth Advocacy Network
page 1 of 2
Tobacco Look-Alike Products
These products look like tobacco products and may encourage youth to smoke.
WHAT ARE TOBACCO LOOK-ALIKE PRODUCTS?
These are products that do not contain tobacco, but are packaged to look like tobacco products.
There are candy, chocolate, bubble gum, and beef jerky equivalents to cigarettes, cigars, and chew.
Both the product and the packaging resemble tobacco products and major tobacco brands.
KEY POINTS:
• Use of tobacco look-alike products promote
social acceptability of smoking and chew use.
• A recent episode of the cable reality show
Toddlers and Tiaras featured a 4- year-old lipsynching to a song from Grease, complete with
a candy cigarette as a prop.
• An informal review of YouTube videos tagged
“jerky chew” resulted in 227 hits. Comments
from predominantly pre-teen and teen boys on
the jerky chew videos were similar to YouTube
reviews of tobacco chew products.
• A similar analysis of YouTube videos tagged
“candy cigarettes” resulted in 1640 hits,
mostly with themes of humor (i.e. pretending
to light them, giving them to children) and
commentaries on how it is unbelievable that
candy cigarettes still exist because they clearly
are aimed at children.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
• These products look like tobacco products and
may encourage youth to smoke.
• In a study of adults, current and past smokers
were significantly more likely to have used candy
cigarettes as a child than never smokers were. 1
Access and Marketing
page 2 of 2
Candy cigarettes, jerky chew, and products like Big
League Chew (bubble gum) are less prevalent than
they were in the past. Mostly available at:
• Gas stations and convenience stores
• Discount stores
• On the Internet
• Old-fashioned candy stores
A case study of San Mateo County, CA indicated that
of surveyed tobacco retailers 6-9% sold tobacco lookalike products anywhere in the store and 3-5% sold it
within 3 feet of the tobacco products.2
In an effort to reduce tobacco sales to minors, 40
Attorneys General and major retail outlets (including
ConocoPhillips, Safeway, ExxonMobil, Walgreen,
Wal-Mart, and 7-Eleven) signed agreements that
included provisions prohibiting the sale of tobacco
look-alike products in the participating states.3
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACTION
• Include tobacco look-alike products in tobacco-free school campus or organizational policies.
• Adopt a tobacco look-alike product plug-in for retail licensing ordinances (stores selling real tobacco products
can not also sell candy or other simulated products).4
1 Klein, Jonathan D, Thomas, Randall K, et. al. (2007). History of childhood candy cigarette use is associated with tobacco smoking
by adults. Preventive Medicine, 45, 26-30.
2 American Lung Association of San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. (2001). Case Study Report of Tobacco Free San Mateo County
Report.
3 Office of the Attorney General. (2005). Attorney General Lockyer announces 40-state agreement with ConocoPhillips to reduce sale
of tobacco products to minors.
4 ChangeLab Solutions. (2008). Model California ordinance requiring a tobacco retailer license plug-in: No sales of tobacco look-alike
products.
[email protected] | (916) 339-3424 | www.cyanonline.org
© 2013, California Department of Public Health.
facebook.com/cyanfan
twitter.com/CYANonline