I admit it -- I have tried candy cigarettes!

You remember those, don't you? The rolled bubble gum sticks encased in powder that, when "puffed" on, would emit a cloud that looked like it was smoke from a real cigarette. I didn't go through a pack a day and the good news is that using them as a child didn't turn me into a smoker as an adult.

As a teenager, I took a lick from those "tequila lollipops." It was a novelty purchase primarily because it had that creepy worm suspended in the middle. The taste was definitely not my cup of tea and, as time went on, the product began to disappear from the market.

Fast-forward to a couple of months ago. I walk into a local beauty supply store and see what I thought to be a vial of cocaine for sale right by the register. Now I've been in this city for quite awhile and feel like I've seen just about everything, but seeing the packaging for "Blow Energy Drink Mix" certainly made me do a double take.

Then research uncovered other products that use drug appeal to get an audience. "Bong Water Energy Drink." "Meth Coffee." Yes, it makes you wonder, "Who in the world would want to drink that?" But with many of these companies forecasting profits, it's quite obvious that they do have a following.

In my interview with Blow's CEO Logan Gola, he made the point that a kid purchasing his product may not necessarily go out and buy real street drugs just because "Blow" looks and sounds like them. He cited his company's freedom of speech in marketing "Blow" as "pure, uncut energy" and even pointed out the fact that a warning on the back of the package advises that Blow is not recommended for people under the age of 18.

Gola's points are all valid, but so are those made by Dr. Jeff Gardere with New York's Parallax Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Gardere (you may see him as a regular contributor on the "Today" show) labeled "Blow "and other products that sound like and use drug imagery to market their products as possible "gateway drugs." He argues that kids using these products are trying to appear more mature than they really are, and make reckless decisions to maintain that image.

Given my earlier admission to using the precursors to these products when I was young, I just don't know how I would react if my child came home with a vial of "Blow."

The old advertising adage says, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." But with these types of products and their appeal, you may want to take care that you don't get burned.