Cocoa Cigarette: Orion’s Long-Selling Dagashi Candy Stick

Kids tend to want to imitate what adults enjoy, say, smoking and drinking. In fact, when I was small, I was that kind of boy.

But I wasn’t such a bad boy, so I legally enjoyed smoking and drinking. Luckily, in Japan, there are food companies that make such precocious kids’ wishes come true.

For example, once you realize this Namaiki Beer is a non-alcoholic beverage for kids, you can allow your children to drink it. 

Then, what about cigarettes?

Orion’s Cocoa Cigarette

With this “Cocoa Cigarette (ココアシガレット)“, the confectionery maker Orion fulfills the children’s wish.

At first glance, the contents appear to be cigarettes. So if your child took the white stuff out of pocket, you might be astonished.

But when you take a closer look at the white things, you will find they are not cigarettes but candies.

As you can guess from the name of Cocoa Cigarette, this cigarette-like candy stick has a subtle cocoa flavor.

But the main ingredient is sugar, and this treat is more of a peppermint candy than a cocoa-flavored confection. Texture-wise, it is hard and chalky.

As seen from the literary style, Cocoa Cigarette is a candy with a long history introduced in 1951. It has since been a long-time favorite among children.

This treat is a Dagashi and only costs 30 yen (about 0.3 USD), making it possible for kids to buy it even with their little pocket money.

Ingredients

Based on the ingredient list, this cigarette candy consists of sugar, dextrose, dextrin, cocoa powder, processed starch, emulsifier, and flavoring.

Where to Buy

Orion’s Cocoa Cigarette is available at many supermarkets in Japan. The product can also be bought on some online shopping sites.