Flavored cigarettes have names that sound like exotic drinks - Winter Warm Toffee, Twista Chill and Kauai Kolada...Teens are lighting them up - and, consequently, lawmakers are trying to ban them.

Congress is considering a bill to prohibit the sale of flavored cigarettes as are New York, Minnesota, West Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina and Texas.

At least one tobacco company, Reynolds American Inc., has already stopped advertising them. Another, Altria, doesn't make candy- or fruit-flavored cigarettes and supports a ban.

A survey released last week by Buffalo's Roswell Park Cancer Institute found that 20 percent of smokers 17 to 19 smoked flavored cigarettes in the past month, compared with just 6 percent of smokers over 25.

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American...decided to stop advertising flavored versions of its Camel brands...after meeting with Sen. Charles Fuschillo, a sponsor of New York's bill...

McConnell said the company opposes legislation to ban flavored cigarettes because it would also ban conventional cigarettes.

"Ingredients like cocoa, sugar, licorice and menthol have been used in cigarettes for 100 years," he said.

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Philip Morris is afraid of losing market share. The Camel guys are weinies, but they're also right; all cigarettes could be banned with this type of legislation.

The reason more young people smoke these flavored cigarettes than older smokers is because you experiment more when you're younger. I think another reason is that they're more likely not to care that these cigarettes cost more. They just haven't been screwed on prices long enough to care about paying a bit more at this time.

BTW, if you read the article you'll see a few idiotic statements made by the usual suspects.