Bringing New Meaning to Candy Cigarettes

Oh, RJ Reynolds, what will you think of next? The makers of the best cigarettes on the market, Camels, have come out with unique and fun ways to get your daily nicotine fix:

The dissolvable products -- a pellet (Camel Orbs), a twisted stick the size of a toothpick (Camel Sticks), and a film strip for the tongue (Camel Strips), are made from finely ground flavored tobacco. The products melt in the mouth within three to 30 minutes. RJR said the Strips melt fastest, the toothpick-like Sticks dissolve in about 10 minutes, and the pellet-size Orbs last the longest.

The nicotine delivery of the products is said to be high: whereas a cigarette smoker typically takes in about 1 milligram of nicotine, the Camel Dissolvables are said to deliver about 0.6 to 3.1 mg of nicotine each.

Unfortunately, these magical pellets of minty goodness are only available in a few test markets for right now (and I will be sure to pick up some when I'm next up in Columbus), but that isn't stopping the political outrage from being dispensed up on Capitol Hill.

The argument is essentially that these products are being marketed to the childrens and that its a way to get them hooked on cigarettes. But here is my question, if the "orbs" contain just as much (and possibly more) tobaccoey goodness as your typical cigarette, but without the social stigma and apparent negative health effects (though the potential for mouth cancer exists) of their traditional form, why assume that kids will make the jump to smokes? And really, how is it that much worse than Nicorettes which contain more nicotine per serving (4mg) than these products, and advertise their fruity flavor or tooth whitening ability?

Is it because a pharmaceutical company like GSK makes Nicorettes which makes them acceptable? Or is it because they package them in expensive $40-70 packs that renders them scornless? I don't care how much you call it a "stop smoking aid," it'll only get you to quit if you decide you don't want the nicotine any more, and stop chewing the gum. In terms of price, if you buy a 160 piece pack at $70, it comes out to about $8.50 a "pack" (or 20 cigarette equivelent), which isn't much more than the new smoke prices that went into effect after the new tobacco taxes were levied.