Candies that let children mimic smoking have prompted two public interest groups to seek the removal of online listings, warning that the sweets could make tobacco use seem harmless and acceptable.
Action on Smoking & Health (ASH Philippines) and the EcoWaste Coalition urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act after monitoring product listings and social media reels promoting children’s consumption of cigarette-looking candies.
The products “contribute to the behavioral and psychological conditioning that normalizes smoking for children,” the groups said in a September 26 press release.
Their appeal was contained in a September 25 letter to FDA OIC-Director General Franklin Anthony M. Tabaquin IV, signed by ASH Philippines Executive Director Dr. Maricar Limpin and EcoWaste Coalition National Coordinator Aileen Lucero.
The groups said the concern extends to the gestures children imitate when consuming the sweets.
The candies allow them to experience “holding the cigarette stick between their fingers to putting it to their mouth,” according to the statement.
The groups warned that the products could weaken children’s awareness of tobacco’s dangers by “subliminally instilling that smoking is a fun, harmless, and acceptable activity.”
Among the products reported to the FDA were Cigarette Candy, Good Flavor Smoke Candy, Lollipop Cigarette Pop, Lollipops (Non-Cigarette Candy), MM Xiong Trendy Candy Stick, Sugar Tobacco Stick Lollipop, and Trendy Lollipops.
The organizations asked the FDA to order online shopping and social media platforms to take down the listings. They alleged that the products lack certificates of product registration and that their importation, distribution, promotion, advertising and sale violate Republic Act No. 9711, or the FDA Act of 2009.
They also cited the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which the Philippines has signed and ratified.
The treaty’s Article 16 includes “prohibiting the manufacture and sale of sweets, snacks, toys or any other objects in the form of tobacco products, which appeal to minors.”
Alongside the takedown request, the groups sought an FDA advisory explaining the concerns surrounding cigarette-like candies and warning businesses against manufacturing, importing, distributing, promoting, advertising or selling tobacco-themed products.
They asked the agency to encourage importers, distributors and retailers with remaining stocks to “voluntarily surrender them to the nearest FDA offices for environmentally sound disposal.”
The organizations also urged the FDA to work with Congress on stricter sanctions against those producing, importing, distributing and marketing tobacco look-alike sweets, snacks, toys and other objects appealing to minors.
Their proposal includes “sanctions against digital platforms where these are traded.”
The groups said stronger penalties would support the implementation of the tobacco control treaty and help prevent young people from taking up tobacco and similar products.
The press release did not include a response from the FDA or the platforms, or independent confirmation of the products’ registration status.
