Middle-school students have found a new use for Smarties candy — “smoking” them.
The Wall Street Journal reported March 20 that students are crushing the sugary candy discs into a powder, tearing off one end of the cellophane wrapper, pouring the powder into their mouths, and then blowing the dust out of their mouths and nose.
Adults worry about the health ramifications associated with such behavior, but they are also concerned that it may lead to kids smoking cigarettes or marijuana.
“It’s kind of like eating the candy, but a different way to eat the candy,” said 14-year-old Titus Williams, who insists he will never smoke cigarettes. Titus created an “instructional” YouTube video on how to smoke the candy.
Students at Hewitt-Trussville Middle School in Alabama are no longer allowed to carry Smarties while in school, after school administrators caught wind of the trend last year. “I have made it clear to our students that possession of Smarties (or similar candy) will result in a Class II offense,” which usually means detention, said principal Phyllis Faus. She called ’smoking’ Smarties “hazardous to your son or daughter’s health.”
Mark Shikowitz, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Schneider Children’s Hospital said that while Smarties may irritate throats and noses — and lungs if inhaled — the candies are not life-threatening because they will dissolve. “I still don’t think it’s a great idea,” he warned.