June is National Candy Month. Started by the National Confectioner’s Association, the holiday celebrates the value candy adds to our lives. Candy has been produced for over 100 years.
The national confectioners association believes that as Americans get older, they tend to favor better things in life. A cross-sectional analysis of consumption patterns revealed that adults are consuming an increasing amount of candy. The adult market has proven to be lucrative. 75% of all adult Americans say they eat chocolate or hard candy. The average American eats almost 25 pounds of candy every year and 1 in 4 American adults will choose to have at least one piece of candy every day of the week.
Sweetheart Candy "conversation" hearts were first made in 1866 by Necco. They were originally used in weddings until the early 1900's when they became a Valentine's Day staple. Almost 100 years after Necco started making conversation hearts California Senator, George Murphy, kept candy in his desk to offer his colleagues. This started a tradition that is still followed in the US Senate today and is referred to as the Candy Desk.
PEZ Candy was invented in the 1920s in Vienna, Austria by Eduard Haas III as an alternative to smoking. In 1952, PEZ came to the United States. The original PEZ container was a tin and later changed to the dispenser that fit easier in a person's pocket.
In 1997 the President of Phillip Morris, James Morgan, made the outlandish claim that cigarettes were no more addictive than Gummy Bears. This gave birth to the Bears for Butts program run by the Health Partnership Project and the California Medical Association Foundation. At events around California, anyone turning in their smokes received a free bag of gummy bears, cessation counseling, and tips on avoiding secondhand smoke.
It's obvious how much adults like their candy. The Tipsy Bartender offers several gummy bear themed cocktails. Consumers can purchase gummy bears flavored with wine or spiked with caffeine and flavored with coffee. There are even breast implants that are named after the famous gummy bear!
American adults eat 75% of all cotton candy in the USA. They also enjoy cotton candy flavored products such as personal lubricant, wine , vodka, and a desensitizing throat spray to minimize the gag reflex
Adults enjoy candy and candy flavors in a variety of shapes and sizes. There's a lollipop that is shaped like a man's private parts, candy shaped like sperm, gummy boobs, and specialty candy for bedroom adventures. Who knew you could get a bra, male g-string, and female g-string made out of candy?
The examples of adult products with candy flavors are endless, yet groups fighting tobacco harm reduction claim that when the products are candy flavored, they are a ploy by big tobacco to market to children. We don't hear these same groups express concerns about food products influencing kids to use tobacco. A quick online search found bubble gum cigarettes, candy cigarettes, real candy pipes, licorice pipes, and bubblegum cigars. Outside of gum and candy, there is shredded beef jerky called "chew" and packaged in a container reminiscent of a chewing tobacco tin.
While quit smoking resources suggest that the use of candy-like lozenges is a great quick fix for nicotine, it appears that the only time it's OK to use something candy flavored is if the tobacco control community says it's OK. These groups remind the public that many tobacco harm reduction products are not FDA approved for smoking cessation while suggesting many non-FDA approved strategies to help people stop smoking. Their list includes: toothpicks, cinnamon sticks, gum, and lollipops, or chewing on and sucking a straw.
The voice of consumers who are trying to quit smoking continues to be ignored. The use of flavored e-cigarettes was associated with more than twice the odds of smoking cessation among adult users compared to those using tobacco flavors. History demonstrates the adult love of all things candy. If something candy flavored is what helps someone stop smoking, who are we to tell them they can't quit that way? We'd help more people stop smoking if we would listen to their needs and what works for them.
Whether your adult choice includes a candy bar from the grocery store, something candy flavored from the liquor store, a sexy candy item from the adult sex-toy store, or a candy flavored product that helps you to avoid smoking, here's wishing everyone a happy candy month!
