Dr. Kremlin Wickramasinghe, head of the WHO’s European Office for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, told DR that he is “alarmed” that cigarette candy is sold on such a large scale in Denmark.

“Research shows that a product like candy cigarettes can help children develop a positive attitude towards smoking. It can help make smoking more socially acceptable and like normal behaviour,” he said.

Denmark’s tobacco-free generation plan

One of Wickramasinghe’s reasons for Denmark banning the cigarette candy was that it would help the country achieve its plan for a tobacco-free generation.

In March, the Danish government unveiled its idea to ban the sale of cigarettes and other nicotine products to anyone born after 2010.

People under 18 are not legally allowed to purchase cigarettes under current Danish laws, so although the ban would not have an effect for six years, it would prevent people born after 2010 from ever buying cigarettes.

There may be EU legal obstacles preventing the plan in its current form as it would require a change to the EU tobacco directive but the government has not  given up hope of implementing the rule in future.

How popular is cigarette candy in Denmark?

Candy cigarettes (slikcigaretter) are sweets that include chewing gum and chocolate, made to look like cigarettes, sold in colourful packages that look like real cigarette boxes. They are not sold in Danish supermarket chains such as Coop Netto, Føtex, Bilka and Kvickly, but they can still be bought at many kiosks and campsites. 

“There are 13 cigarettes in one pack, 32 packs in one box, and I sell at least six boxes in one season,” Per Nielsen, owner of Krakær Camping in Djursland, told national broadcaster DR News.

“They are, of course, made exactly like a cigarette. The children really go for them,” he said.

According to DR, the company Candinavia A / S, which supplies candy cigarettes, it sold 71,500 packages to Denmark between May 2021 and May 2022. This is an increase of three percent compared to the previous year.

“Although there is a lot of focus on how unhealthy smoking is these days, sales of this product continue at an unchanged pace. This is because children think it’s fun”, director of Candinavia A / S, Benny Ebsen told DR News.

Concerns over Denmark sales

The Danish Cancer Society believes it is a bad idea that candy cigarettes are being sold across Denmark this summer and have received some complaints from the public about why the product is sold. Rather than a specific ban of sales, the cancer society would rather individual shop sellers decide to remove the candy cigarettes from their shelves.

“We do not want Danish children and young people to become familiar with smoking….it is a form of marketing of cigarettes, and we are of course against that”, Niels Them Kjær, project manager for tobacco prevention told DR News.

“Some may think that it is nonsense to attack candy cigarettes, but it helps to normalise dealing with cigarettes and tobacco. If it’s fun with toy cigarettes, it’s at least as fun – maybe even more fun – with real cigarettes,”Jørgen Vestbo, professor of respiratory medicine at The University of Manchester said.

Candynavia director Benny Ebsen said he doesn’t believe that the product itself causes children and young people to start smoking and pointed out that it is not a new product.

Per Nielsen from Krakær Camping said that children aged as young as five buy the candy cigarettes but he was not concerned.

“I do not see any difference between candy cigarettes and a pack of chewing gum from Stimorol. It may well be that it looks like a cigarette, but if that is what sells, then it’s fine with me”,  Nielsen said.

DR News were unable to get a comment about the proposed ban from Denmark’s Health Minister Magnus Heunicke.

Are candy cigarettes banned in other countries?

DR News says 87 countries have banned candy that look like tobacco products, according to WHO and partner organisation Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

In Europe, this includes Armenia, Finland, Georgia, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey.

READ MORE: Denmark presents plan to ban cigarette sales for next generations