The city of St. Paul, Minn., told a local candy store it had to stop selling cigarettes to kids or face a $500 fine. Oh, did we mention the cigarettes in question were made of candy? St. Paul passed an ordinance in 2009 forbidding the sale of cigarettes, including the toy smokes due to fear they would encourage children to smoke. That’s bad news for Lynden’s Soda Fountain, which prides itself on its retro vibe. All sorts of old-fashioned candies, including candy cigarettes, are available on the shelves—or were—until now. “This [is] a tiny little shop,” says owner Tobi Lynden. “We’ve got a soda fountain from the ’50s, and sell nostalgic candy and ice cream. It’s a very neighborly place.” Lynden knows better than to fight the law regarding packs of sugar-packed cigs which, even if they don’t have nicotine, probably aren’t the best thing for kids anyway. He now keeps his candy cigarettes in the shop’s basement. (ABC News)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.