Illustration by KENT KRIEGSHAUSER/The Register-Mail

Candy hearts in plastic cans with "Love Buzz" and "You Intoxicate Me" printed on them attracted the attention of the Knox County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. The group, concerned that the packaging might promote alcohol use among children, asked Wal-Mart to move the candy out of the kid-oriented Valentine's Day section of the store. The store complied.

'Beer can' Valentine's candy creates a buzz

Coalition says packaging sends wrong message to children

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

By Amelia Flood

The Register-Mail

It was on the shelf among stuffed animals, boxes of chocolates and other Valentine's Day merchandise in Wal-Mart.

The product is shaped like a beer can but contains candy hearts rather than alcohol. For Rhonda Brady and the Knox County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, however, the packaging was the point. Brady and other coalition members asked the manager of Wal-Mart to remove the product from shelves, citing the message the candy's packaging sends to children about alcohol use. Wal-Mart manager Travis Wilhite, after reviewing the complaint and consulting his corporate office, removed the "Love Buzz," and other adult-oriented products to an adult section of the store - women's lingerie.

"Any time we have a customer bring up a concern, we try to review it and make a judgment call," Wilhite said. "We wanted to remove it from an area that kids would be shopping for valentines in."

Wilhite based his decision on what he thought was a customer comfort.

"Any retailer wants to have response from the customer and for them to feel comfortable in the store," Wilhite said.

Brady and the coalition also asked Target to remove candy packaged in prescription pill bottle look-alikes there.

"I believe that having a prescription drug-look bottle next to candy and things for children is not appropriate in our community," Brady said. "We have enough of an issue with prescription abuse."

According to Target manager Kevin Turner, the candy in question was removed from shelves and a decision is pending at the corporate level on whether or not it will be returned.

"Anything's a possibility on that one. And we used our best judgment," Turner said.

In addition to asking local stores to remove the products from their shelves, Brady contacted Galerie USA, the distributor of the "Love Buzz" candy to express her concerns via e-mail.

"I am appalled that this is on sale in Galesburg," Brady wrote. "I don't want my grandkids, son, or any other youth to think it's acceptable.

"Since alcohol is the drug of choice by our youth, promoting such products that mimic and glorify beer ... and that connect beer to romance is not a norm we favor." Brady went on in her e-mail to cite the "For ages 3 and up," marking on the product as well as the fact that "Love Buzz," and its sister products "You Intoxicate Me" and "Brewed to Perfection," were not featured on Galerie's Web site.

Galerie USA customer service representative Rochelle Stotler replied to Brady's concerns but could not be reached for comment for this story.

"The age statement, 'For Ages 3 and UP!,' is a regulatory statement for the age range that the product has tested safely for," Stotler wrote." It is not meant to be a marketing statement, but a safety regulation, as it has small parts that you would not want an infant to play with." Stotler went on to say she would pass Brady's and the coalition's concerns to the company's management.

While Brady and the coalition asked for the removal of the products based on what they say is an attempt to influence youth's views on alcohol and drugs, Knox College psychology professor Frank McAndrew says the importance of advertising and product packaging should not be over-estimated.

"I think they're making a mountain out of a mole hill," McAndrew said. "Do I think that things like the packaging of candy make somebody more likely to be a substance abuser later on? No."

According to McAndrew, the psychology behind packaging products to look like alcohol, cigarettes or drugs is to familiarize youth with the concept as well as to increase their comfort level. Most studies on the subject are done by the companies putting out the products, McAndrew said, and are often kept in-house as trade secrets. McAndrew is not aware of any major studies on the topic outside of the industry.

"It's certainly been around a long time. When I was a kid, there were candy cigarettes, packaged with the brand names of real ones on the box." McAndrew said. While advertising and packaging may play a small role for those with other factors for substance abuse, such as genetics or environmental issues, McAndrew said he does not see it as a major influence.

"You're not going to take a perfectly good kid and give them candy that comes out of a beer can and turn them into a substance abuser," McAndrew said. "Removing it isn't going to save anybody who would end up like that anyway."