this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2026
60 points (100.0% liked)

Vintage and Retro Ads, Promos, Fliers, Etc.

2224 readers
230 users here now

For sharing images of vintage magazine ads, fliers, promos, etc.

We're going to play it pretty loose with timeframe here so please don't get offended anyone :)

Be nice. All instance rules apply.

Rules:

  • Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
  • No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.
  • No Ads / Spamming.
  • No pornography.

Règles :

  • Soyez respectueux. Tout le monde doit se sentir le bienvenu ici.
  • Pas de bigoterie - y compris le racisme, le sexisme, le capacitisme, l’homophobie, la transphobie ou la xénophobie.
  • Pas de publicités / Pas de spam.
  • Pas de pornographie.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
can@sh.itjust.works
60
Candy cigarettes. (Date unknown, maybe 1950s?) (lemmy.nz)
submitted 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) by EnmebaraGuesser@piefed.ca to c/vintageads@sh.itjust.works
16 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Be cool like the adults!

Because of course big tobacco would do that. They were often sold in packs looking just like real cigarette packs, except with the word "Candy" on it. Some appeared to be fictional brands, and others were sold under the branding of real cigarette companies.

Candy cigarettes

Wikipedia says:

A 1990 study found that sixth graders who ate candy cigarettes were twice as likely to smoke cigarettes as those who did not eat candy cigarettes.

And,

Some products contain powdered sugar hidden in the wrapper, allowing the user to blow into the cigarette and produce a cloud of sugar that imitates smoke, which comes out of the other end.

They are still available in the US and Canada, although with some restrictions.

top 16 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 1 points 22 minutes ago

These are delicious, and they still sell them.

Fucked up, sure, but as a kid I loved them. I never grew up to smoke coffee cigarettes.

[–] ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 hours ago

There was still an old-style candy shop on the town i grew up in. 5 cent bazooka bubblegums, bubblegum cigars, candy cigarettes, the works.

The candy cigs were unbranded and super basic by that time (90s), and they replaced the powdered sugar with flour, but I certainly have memories of that..

[–] baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 12 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

I specifically remember in my childhood when an adult (I think my friend’s dad?) gave me a candy cigarette and pretended to “light” it for me using his Zippo.

So glad I never took it up.

[–] EnmebaraGuesser@piefed.ca 8 points 12 hours ago

As somebody who's known people who died of lung cancer (mostly in my parent's gen), I am glad you didn't take it up, too.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 3 points 11 hours ago

We used to light it as kids, it would taste like roasted marshmallows on the end.

[–] hOrni@lemmy.world 8 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (2 children)

We still had them in Poland in the 90s.

Edit: You can still buy them online. Now I'm thinking of giving them away for Halloween.

[–] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 10 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Even in the USA in the 90's, the local ice cream man had them. I never saw them anywhere else, but I definitely used to buy them often. We also had Big League Chew which took me far too long to realize it was gum that was supposed to look like chewing tobacco.

[–] Steve@startrek.website 2 points 6 hours ago

I always got them from the ice cream truck

[–] baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 7 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Big League Chew

Yeah, I can’t believe I didn’t realize that until I was an adult. Wait a minute… was Bubble Tape the allegory to dip?

[–] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago

I think bubble tape was innocent and simply designed to look like a tape dispenser.

[–] zloubida@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

In France too. Maybe even the beginning of the 00s, but I'm not sure.

[–] EnmebaraGuesser@piefed.ca 2 points 10 hours ago

Looks like the wiki table doesn't list France. Poland, though, still available today, according to that chart.

You can technically get them still in the US and Canada - well most of, but there are several states & provs who ban them outright. But they can't be sold as branded cigarettes, so they are sold instead as "candy sticks" or similar. I found a photo of what those look like. Same product, cig branding out, superhero branding in. I'm not sure that's much better.

Candy sticks

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 8 points 11 hours ago

Some products contain powdered sugar hidden in the wrapper, allowing the user to blow into the cigarette and produce a cloud of sugar that imitates smoke, which comes out of the other end.

Heck yeah they did. Good times.

[–] mrmisses@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago

Loved these as a kid, even had the kind that let me blow smoke. Never led to me smoking

[–] Malyca@lemmy.zip 2 points 10 hours ago

I used to love those things in Germany

[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 hours ago

I used.to love those things back in the 80's (USVI).