http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123750945477390601.html#mod=todays_us_nonsub_page_one
Crush Candy, Suck In Dust, Blow Out Puffs; Schools Fear It'll Make Cigarettes Cool
So, in today's issue of the WSJ I found this article and when I read the title I had to read the article. This is just more of an interesting, fun article, but I thought it was something the group might find interesting.
Basically, there is this new fad that has been going around middle school where kids "smoke" smarties. The way you smoke them is by crushing the candy until it is like a powder and then you suck it in from one end (not inhaling) and then just blow it out and it looks like smoke. Intersted in how popular this was I looked into it on Google and YouTube and there are a lot of videos teaching people how to smoke smarties.
Apparently it has parents really worries and school are banning it along the same lines as smoking cigarettes. There is no proof that it does any harm to anyone, I guess the sugar just dissolves and it really isn't a big deal. I suppose the bigger issue here is the fear of this fad making cigarettes popular among younger kids.
I have never heard of anything like that and am curious as to how it even started and spread so much. I am assuming the internet, that is the power it has. All it takes is one person to post one of those videos online and some of them have been views over 200,000 times!! That is a lot of people watching.
I do not think it is as big of a deal as maybe parents and school officials are making it out to be. I mean I played with those candy cigarettes growing up and I still eat them from time to time because my room mate loves them, but it never made me want to smoke. I think it's just kids being kids and I don't see the fad lasting that long. Nonetheless, an interesting read.
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I understand parents' worries about the subject but I also don't think many more kids are really going to smart smoking that wouldn't have anyway, simply because of this fad. I also used to play with the candy cigarettes as a little kid and that never made me want to smoke a real one either. I feel as though there is a lot more awareness about the negative effects of smoking among society than there was even 10 years ago. There are even numerous commercials alerting younger kids of the dangers of smoking. I believe that this awareness and measures such as the ones taken at these schools will help dissuade kids from taking on this dangerous habit...
ReplyDeleteI think it's just about parents having the right conversations with their kids. Parents want the "right" information to just be out there, available in the world without actually having to do anything themselves. Sit down, talk with your kids about the difference between smoking smarties and smoking a cigarette, that just because the motions may look the same, one is very harmful and the other is not. I feel like parents these days are just lazy! Be a parent, stop arguing against everything out in the world supposedly corrupting your child and just worry about what's actually going on with them.
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