Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Red Zone Defensive Plays

A Protective Smokes Screen

People need to be playing defense here because it's the only way to ride out the "hideous" market and "try to profit when most stocks are getting creamed," Cramer told his viewers. Defensive, he said, means secular growth stocks or companies that do well no matter how bad the economy is.

There is nothing more defensive than cigarettes, "not even in the truly horrible, apocalyptical crisis known as subprime lending," Cramer said. And Altria's (MO Quote) "when-issued" shares are his No. 1 pick in the tobacco industry right now, he said.

Altria's when-issued shares, trading under the ticker MO-WI (MOWI Quote), are the shares market players can purchase here without dealing with Altria's spinoff of Kraft (KFT Quote), Cramer explained. "You're buying pure Philip Morris if you're buying MO-WI."

Further, he believes people should get in ahead of March 30, which is when MO-WI will rejoin Altria. Cramer said he believes the when-issued stocks are "great," and although there's nothing so bad about Kraft, "there's just no reason to own it here."

If people want food stocks, he suggested owning General Mills (GIS Quote), which has been "doing fabulously," Kellogg (K Quote) or even Sara Lee (SLE Quote), all of which have "more consist and exciting growth than Kraft."

Plus, not only does Cramer consider Philip Morris a best-of-breed play on cigarettes, but also, in numerical terms, shareholders of MO-WI get a higher dividend with the company.