Chocolate cigarette
A chocolate cigarette , also known as a chocolate cigarette , is a confectionery product that is mainly aimed at children and young people.
In deceptively real imitation “cigarette boxes” with an imitation tax stamp there are usually ten or more chocolate sticks wrapped in paper and looking like real cigarettes . The brands often imitate the name and logo of real tobacco cigarettes, for example Pell Mell, Guitare or Regent . In the case of the chewing gum cigarette , the chocolate is replaced by chewing gum .
The first chocolate cigarettes came on the market at the beginning of the 20th century.
criticism
The chocolate cigarette, like the chewing gum cigarette, is extremely controversial. Critics accuse these articles of increasing susceptibility to nicotine addiction. A US study showed that people who were given chocolate cigarettes as children later smoke twice as often as those who grew up without the candy.
In 2000, Jonathan Klein (Rochester School of Medicine) stated in the British Journal of Medicine that the companies from the tobacco industry , who otherwise tried very hard for their trademark rights, never legally prosecuted copycats in the confectionery industry. From this, critics conclude that the tobacco industry apparently considers chocolate cigarettes to be a welcome gateway drug. The comparison was flawed because in trademark law "confectionery" (class 30) and "tobacco products" (class 34) differ in the brand classes , so the prerequisite for a "trademark dispute" would not be met.
For these reasons, several countries such as Luxembourg , France , Belgium or South Africa are considering banning these sweets, mainly because they are specifically aimed at children. The Tobacco Convention of the World Health Organization ( WHO) recommends the prohibition in Article 16.1. In 2002 the Council of the European Union expressly endorsed a ban. In 2003, the then consumer protection minister , Renate Künast , considered implementing the Council's proposal into law. However, there was never a corresponding draft law.
In 2008, DKFZ scientists again called for a ban on so-called children's cigarettes. In 2013, the European Parliament decided on a ban in Amendment 73 of the Tobacco Directive, but this happened by mistake. The directive should therefore not be finally adopted in this form. The tobacco directive passed on April 3, 2014 no longer contains the passage on imitation tobacco. Chocolate cigarettes are currently (as of February 2016) still available in stores.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c B. Strassmann: That's how it begins! Why the chocolate cigarette is a dangerous gateway drug. In: Die Zeit , edition 22/2005.
- ↑ Eventually You'll Get Pretend Cancer: The Bizarre World of Candy Cigarettes, accessed June 2, 2008.
- ↑ a b ORF News on the ban on chocolate cigarettes in Luxembourg and France ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ On the planned ban on chocolate cigarettes in South Africa
- ^ WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - text of the convention in several languages.
- ↑ Westdeutsche Zeitung of November 13, 2013.
- ↑ Directive 2014/40 / EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 3, 2014
