Gum Cigarettes

Recently my two 7-year-old grandsons stopped the ice cream man. What they purchased wasn’t ice cream, but bubble gum packaged in the form of a pack of cigarettes. As they “puffed” (they actually breathed out), powder released from the cigarette gum appeared as smoke. I had read about a school principal who had been confiscating plastic guns from schoolchildren and was perplexed as to where they were getting such realistic-looking toy guns. They had been buying them from ice cream vendors.

My only defense to this type of sales tactic from these companies is to reinforce in my grandchildren that smoking is not tolerable by me. I can only set an example by not smoking and hope that they will follow by my example.

JOE ROMERO

Hesperia