The Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. are putting up their dukes to protect their beloved Thin Mints. Along with General Mills Inc. and Tootsie Roll, the Girl Scouts have sent cease and desist letters to prevent their brands from being used to market flavored electronic cigarettes, reports the Associated Press.
Thin Mints, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Tootsie Roll are being used by e-cigarette makers to bolster the liquid nicotine with appealing and recognizable flavors. But these companies argue they are proprietary brands which "conjure up very specific flavors in buyers' minds, in a way that just 'mint chocolate' or 'cinnamon' doesn't," the Associated Press explained.
More From Delish: Should Restaurants Ban Electronic Cigarettes?
Kelly Parisi, a Girls Scout spokeswoman, said in a press release, "Using the Thin Mint name — which is synonymous with Girl Scouts and everything we do to enrich the lives of girls — to market e-cigarettes to youth is deceitful and shameless." Tootsie Rolls president and chief operating officer, Ellen Gordon, had similar sentiments. "We're family oriented. A lot of kids eat our products, we have many adults also, but our big concern is we have to protect the trademark."
On a holistic level, the FDA is tasked with considering to whom electronic cigarettes are marketed, if they are being flavored with candy and fruit that would seem to appeal to children. Unlike tobacco cigarettes which do prohibit those flavors, the FDA did not immediately exclude fruit or candy flavors for use in e-cigs.
Do you think candy and fruit flavors should be banned for use in electronic cigarettes? Should the manufacturers of these e-cigs be able to name their flavors after Toostie Rolls, Thin Mints, or Cinnamon Toast Crunch?
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