UNDER THE INFLUENCE?

Do candy cigarettes or tequila-flavored lollipops influence children's
decisions later on in life?

Police and health officials say they do, but some local stores say there is
no reason to pull the products off the shelves.

Kittery resident Priscilla Guy said she was outraged when she walked into
the local 7-Eleven and saw tequila-flavored lollipops that include a real
worm. What she found more outrageous was that the candy was accessible to
children. The lollipops do not contain alcohol.

Guy is chairwoman of the Kittery Youth Connection and the Kittery Chemical
Awareness and Prevention program.

"Parents see this stuff and they call me," Guy said. "First of all, I am
worried about children eating insect larvae, but even more disturbing is
the message a liquor-flavored lollipop sends to children. It tells them
alcohol is OK. It makes it realistic because there's a real worm in a
tequila bottle and in the candy."

Guy approached the manager of the 7-Eleven who told her he saw nothing
wrong with the tequila pops.

"There's nothing in there that's against the law; there's no liquor in
them," said Don Chabot, manager of the 7-Eleven, waving his hand at the box
on the counter.

Chabot said the pops are aimed at adults, and so far adults are the only
ones who have purchased them.

"Adults buy it as a joke thing," he said.

The lollipops are the creation of California-based company Hotlix.

"Our Hotlix worm suckers and other insect confections have surpassed our
expectations for acceptance, perhaps due to the increased demand for
insects as food," the Hotlix Web site states.

According to information on its site, the bugs are FDA approved and
completely safe. Hotlix claims to sell more than 100 million a year.

Some stores have made a decision not to sell similar products, such as
candy cigarettes, items that might influence kids.

A York landmark, the Goldenrod Restaurant is famous for its saltwater
taffy, but it doesn't sell candy cigarettes or tequila-worm lollipops.

Employee Lisa Garafolo said the Goldenrod stopped selling candy cigarettes
many years ago. She said her bosses are adamant about not offering such
products.

"Kids buy them and think they look cool," Garafolo said. "I definitely
think there's a link there to smoking real cigarettes."

"I think it sends a very bad message," said employee Johanna Reppucci. "As
to the lollipop, I think kids will think they know from that pop what real
tequila is like and they'll be more likely to want to try it."

Other store owners think the issue is frivolous, that candy does not lead
to alcohol and cigarette use.

Peggy Fennelly, owner of Sweet Josie's Candy Shoppe in York, said 95
percent of the customers who come into her store buy candy cigarettes. In
fact, some customers from Massachusetts will come in and buy an entire box.

"I think they are outlawed, or discouraged, in Massachusetts, because many
people who come here for vacation tell me they can't find them in their towns.

"My kids all had them, and they don't smoke," Fennelly said. "I would
rather see kids with candy than with the real thing. It's just a fad for them."

Joan Roach, a customer at Sweet Josie's, agreed.

"I had eight children and we used to go into the five-and-tencq for them,"
she said. "None of mine smoke either."

Guy said Kittery's local ice cream man used to sell candy cigarettes until
he was persuaded not to sell them.

"Kids take the candy and puff away like daddy," Guy said. "It's a
role-model issue and the gateway to more serious actions. It's not right to
sell these things to children. Kids are so easily influenced."

When Bob Brodsky, owner of Yummies Candy & Nuts in Kittery, was asked why
the store wouldn't sell the controversial lollipops, he said, "I think
that's a no-brainer."

But Brodsky said he wasn't concerned about the flavor; it was the worm that
made him decide not to sell the candy.

"We have better taste than that," he said with a smile.

But Brodsky does sell other liquor-flavored and liquor-filled candy.

"There are a lot of candies that are liquor-flavored, and I think they're
harmless because they are not an incentive for children to drink," Brodsky
said.

But he does need a liquor license in his store to sell liquor-filled
chocolates.

Subtle Messages

Paige Farmer is project director for the KEYS for Prevention Coalition, an
offshoot of One Maine for Prevention. She said the problem is the messages
in the products are so subtle that parents may not consider it important.

"Kids like gross things," Farmer said. "The insect is a marketing tool
targeted toward kids. They like it because it grosses out their parents.
The fact there is an alcohol association is a big negative.

"We had an e-mail sent to the State Office of Substance Abuse on the same
topic. I understand there's no tequila in them, but I agree that it's the
message that is disturbing. Candy cigarettes are still manufactured, but
you don't see them as often. This is the same."

Farmer said Maine has an organization called lollipop.com that offers
products to schools for fund-raising. The tequila product is on its list,
but she said she is unaware of any school that ordered the pops.

"People look at alcohol as one of the lesser evils, but it's the worst,"
Farmer said. "It's easy to get, the message not to drink isn't strong, and
there is a lot of related damage. Alcohol is connected to sexual assaults,
drunken driving and drowning among teens. There's so much negative
associated with it, and things like this undermine the way kids look at it."

Stores can't be forced to take the product off the shelf, but Farmer said
she hopes owners will take the responsibility to do so themselves.

Andrea Warren is a licensed clinical professional counselor for York
Hospital's Cottage Program, a substance-abuse program for adolescents. She
said advertising and products like the tequila pop have a huge impact on kids.

"That lollipop is completely counterproductive to what everyone is doing to
battle underage drinking," Warren said. "The stores sell them at the
counter as an impulse buy. They think it's OK as long as there's no liquor
in them. I think that out of common moral decency they wouldn't sell them."

Warren said the attraction is that kids think it's cool to smoke
cigarettes, marijuana, or to get drunk. She said they see no negative
connotation.

"Peer pressure, wanting to fit in, and television and movies have a huge
impact," Warren said. "There's an ad on MTV about Ecstasy putting holes in
your brain, and it has influenced a lot of teens to stop. Alcohol and
cigarettes are the biggest problems, and they're both legal. I don't really
think a lollipop will make them decide to drink, but it definitely sends a
message that it's OK."

Police Response

Kittery DARE officer Sgt. Russell French saw the box in a local convenience
store and it caught his attention because of the words "tequila flavor"
written on the box, with a picture of a cartoon worm sunbathing.

"This is not something that is marketed for adults," French said. "It's
obviously made to interest children . a worm in a candy would gross out
adults, but may be appealing to kids."

French said he expressed his concern to the store manager.

The manager of the store defended the product, explaining that the pop was
a novelty item and not targeted to children, French said.

"It's not my position to tell them what they can and can't sell," the
officer said. "But it is my duty to express my concerns over it."

What concerns him is not just the repulsive aspect of a worm as a snack,
but the appeal children may see in the product.

"This is not just a lollipop," French said. "This will allow underage
people to acquire a taste for liquor. . It's sending out a horrible message
to the younger people in our community by correlating candy with alcohol."

Scott Cogger, York's DARE officer and Middle School resource officer, said
there are no restrictions on the product.

Cogger said most stores in York cooperate when asked to move such items out
of the sight and reach of children.

"I have said things to clerks before, about NoDoz and Ephedrine, things
that shouldn't be right on the counter," Cogger said. "There's no
violation, but I think the message is there. It says it's OK. I bet there's
tons of kids out there who see this on the counter and think I might as
well try it."