Poisoned “Candy”

The magazine Coal Age recently commented on the widespread use of chewing tobacco and snuff by miners because smoking is prohibited in underground mines. But the article pointed out that “the chewer or dipper’s temporary euphoria may in the end give way to cancer of the mouth or throat.” “Touted as cowboy candy,” the article says, “chewing tobacco and snuff are now advertised on TV from coast-to-coast, especially during sports events. . . . Some chewing tobacco, especially the licorice variety, is highly sweetened. ‘One of the scariest cases I’ve seen yet is of a coal miner’s daughter who ate her dad’s tobacco instead of candy,’ said Dr. Chase. ‘She’s about five or six now and has been chewing since she was two. By 30, she’ll have cancer of the gum and mouth.’” A tobacco-company executive is quoted as admitting: “Once a kid’s hooked on cowboy candy he doesn’t leave.” Concludes Coal Age: “What kids​—and grown-ups—​must remember is that this candy is poison.”