Minn. soda shop rebuked for stocking candy smokes

December 26, 2012 @ 6:58 pm


Co-owner of Lynden's Soda Fountain, Tobi Lynden, poses for a photo alongside candy cigarettes, in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Lynden's Soda Fountain was cited for selling candy cigarette's to kids. The candy cigarettes are no longer displayed or sold. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Jeff Wheeler) | Zoom

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Owners of an old-school soda shop in St. Paul, Minn., are being warned to kick the habit and stop stocking novelty candy cigarettes.

City inspectors threatened a misdemeanor citation and $500 fine if Lynden's soda fountain is caught selling the fake smokes again. The Star Tribune reported Wednesday ( http://bit.ly/RiCHiP) that the offering violated an ordinance barring the sale of candy smokes and cartoon character lighters.

A city spokesman says the warning came after inspectors received and looked into a complaint about the presence of the tobacco-themed products. The ordinance was enacted to discourage youngsters from picking up a real smoking habit.

Shop owner Tobi Lynden says the white candy sticks with the red tips were her best-selling candy item but she pulled them to avoid running afoul of the ordinance.

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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com


(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (3)


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  • hpygolkyone wrote...
    Unbelievable!..............
    December 27, 2012 6:37 am
    I loved the candy smokes when I was a kid and never grew up to smoke the nasty real ones!

    In fact, I have been looking for them over the years and could never figure out why I couldn't find them?

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  • Saltchucker wrote...
    Canada, hpygolkyone, Canada.
    December 28, 2012 12:08 pm
    Most all the cool inocuous, yet banned stuff we love can be found north of the border. Candy smokes, flexible spouts for Jerry Cans and so on.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    We used to like the ones that were bubblegum wrapped in cigarette looking paper
    December 31, 2012 3:30 pm
    If you blew through them a puff of powder "smoke" would come out and then we would eat the gum. We kids did try cigarettes at a very young age but it wasn't because of the candy, it was because all our parents were doing it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }