Candy-Flavored Cigarettes Attracting Teens
PHILADELPHIA -- Camel's new flavored cigarettes are in demand, particularly amongst teens, and anti-tobacco activists are up in arms, according to NBC 10 News.
The cigarettes come in flavors like lime, berry, pineapple and coconut.
"They're kind of tasty. It sounds like a gimmick for kids, you know. I walk in there, I see the bright colors and I'm, like, 'I need that cigarette,'" said Kenny Silver, 18, a high school senior.
"It's all colorful and really cool and groovy and they look nice and, of course, people automatically think, 'Oh, nice, I want to smoke these now,'" said Hedi Lowe, 18, also a high school senior.
The exotic brands are being sold at area tobacco shops and gas stations. "So, they put them out there with a little color on there to attract people's attention. 'Oh, let me get those, let me try those,'" said Chris Jehova, a clerk at a Sunoco station.
Jehova said that the cigarettes are selling fast and that has anti-smoking activists worried. Dr. Sandra Weibel said it is obvious children are the target. "I can't imagine adults in any way would want flavored cigarettes," Weibel said.
Weibel is the spokeswoman for the American Lung Association. She looked at Camel ads on the computer and said she believes they are marketed for teens.
But R.J. Reynolds, the manufacturer of Camel, said, "We don't, under any circumstance, market our product to youth. Our adult consumers asked us and told us they like differentiated products. That is why we offer flavored cigarettes."
The cigarettes come in flavors like lime, berry, pineapple and coconut.
"They're kind of tasty. It sounds like a gimmick for kids, you know. I walk in there, I see the bright colors and I'm, like, 'I need that cigarette,'" said Kenny Silver, 18, a high school senior.
"It's all colorful and really cool and groovy and they look nice and, of course, people automatically think, 'Oh, nice, I want to smoke these now,'" said Hedi Lowe, 18, also a high school senior.
The exotic brands are being sold at area tobacco shops and gas stations. "So, they put them out there with a little color on there to attract people's attention. 'Oh, let me get those, let me try those,'" said Chris Jehova, a clerk at a Sunoco station.
Jehova said that the cigarettes are selling fast and that has anti-smoking activists worried. Dr. Sandra Weibel said it is obvious children are the target. "I can't imagine adults in any way would want flavored cigarettes," Weibel said.
Weibel is the spokeswoman for the American Lung Association. She looked at Camel ads on the computer and said she believes they are marketed for teens.
But R.J. Reynolds, the manufacturer of Camel, said, "We don't, under any circumstance, market our product to youth. Our adult consumers asked us and told us they like differentiated products. That is why we offer flavored cigarettes."