Do gummy bears, chocolate chews and melting mints make you think of that great new candy store on State Street, or, the medicine aisle at your neighborhood drug store? The latest innovations in medicine might make you think that Willy Wonka has become the CEO of Pfizer.

What’s new at the pharmacy?

Many kids won’t take their medicine, but they’ll certainly eat candy. So what if medicine looked and tasted just like candy? A brilliant idea!

If you’ve filled a prescription for a child recently, your friendly pharmacist has probably asked if you’d like to have a flavor added. Turning a bitter-tasting elixir into a yummy strawberry smoothie is almost a miracle. Imagine kids enjoying their medicine and fighting less with their parents. It’s a win-win situation.

Suppose your son is vomiting and has a high fever? You may want to give him a fever-reducer but you are afraid that he’ll throw it up. The thought of giving him a suppository makes you want to vomit. What if the fever-reducer came in a fast-melt tab that literally melted in your child’s mouth, couldn’t be thrown up and tasted good? Well now it does.

Here is a common scenario: Johnny is a picky eater. Johnny won’t eat his vegetables. Johnny doesn’t drink his milk. Johnny won’t take his vitamins. Well, Johnny, your mom is in luck, because now you can take your chocolate chew calcium supplement along with your gummy bear multi-vitamin.

A sweet success?

Could there be a sour side? Any pitfall other than getting a cavity? Possibly.

How many people can stop at just one mint? Could a chocoholic stop at just one piece of chocolate? I’ve seen those big jars of gummy bear vitamins at Costco and I’ve wondered if I would be tempted to help myself to a handful of extra gummies. After all, if one is good for me, then maybe a few extra wouldn’t hurt?

This fear became reality when I learned of a child who snuck a bottle of gummy bear vitamins to school and shared them with his friends. No one knew that they weren’t real gummy bears and one child became very ill from consuming 200 gummy vitamins. You can imagine that this is probably not an isolated incident - kids sneak ‘candy’ all of the time.

As ingenious as it may be to combine medicine and candy, there are potential consequences. A parent may want to think twice before teaching a child that this ‘candy’ is good for them. It is okay for medicine to taste good, but it is important for children to learn the difference between candy and medicine. In households with good supervision, gummy vitamins may work very well and in others it may be an unhealthy choice.

As always, please talk to your doctor before starting your child on any new medication or supplement, even if it looks like candy.

If you suspect or know that your baby or child has ingested a toxic substance, a call to California Poison Control (800) 876-4766 or a visit to the hospital emergency department is a must, and could be a lifesaver.