The sale of candy cigarettes in Penn State convenience stores is rekindling childhood memories for some students, while others would rather see the sales go up in smoke.

"I think candy cigarettes glorify smoking and make smoking seem cooler than it is," Suhaly Bautista (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

Candy cigarettes can be found in campus convenience stores, such as Louie's, which is in Redifer Commons and the Moxie Store, which is in Waring Commons.

"Some kids buy them by the whole box -- that's 24 packs of candy cigarettes at once," Barb Strother, a Louie's cashier, said. "Kids like them because it brings them back to their childhood."

Paulette Wilkinson, the assistant manager of Waring Dining Commons in West Halls, said that candy cigarettes were introduced for sale in campus stores a little more than two years ago.

Although she said she believes students are pleased with the sale of candy cigarettes, she received one complaint from a student two weeks ago.

Tracey Brauksieck (junior-agricultural science) said she thinks the candy cigarettes are a health hazard for children.

"I think it promotes smoking in little kids. My little cousins love to 'smoke' candy cigarettes," she said.

"I would tell them that smoking is really not cool, but they are convinced that it is," she added.

According to Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an organization that is dedicated to protecting children from tobacco products, candy products modeled after cigarettes send the wrong signal to young, impressionable kids.

"The packaging is remarkably similar to many tobacco products. Tobacco companies have never claimed any trademark infringement, and you have to ask why they wouldn't do that," said Matt Barry, senior policy analyst for Tobacco-Free Kids.

"However, on a college campus, hopefully older and more mature populations would know the difference," he added.

Biobehavorial health professor Lynn Kozlowski said candy cigarettes may encourage smoking but added that there is no evidence proving college-aged students are influenced by the sale of candy cigarettes.

"There are definite issues about little kids playing with these cigarettes, but the majority of college students are taking up smoking before college," he said.

Carol Williams, a deli worker at the Moxie Store, said the controversy raised over candy cigarettes is ridiculous.

"They are just candy, and the boxes don't even say 'cigarettes' on them," she said. "They don't lead to smoking in teenagers. That is just an assumption."

Wilkinson said she believes in addition to nostalgia, the price of candy cigarettes, which is 15 cents a box, also contributes to their popularity among students.

"We go through about five cases a week," she said. "Candy cigarettes are also cheap compared to anything else in the store."

Bob Graybill (senior-history and political science) also said he believes candy cigarettes do not lead to smoking.

"We are college students -- not little kids," he said. "Candy cigarettes are silly, and if a college student starts smoking because of them, that is pretty pathetic."