Tobacco Industry Strategies Promoting Flavored Little Cigars and Cigarillos

Objective: Flavored little cigar and cigarillo (LCC) use represents an underserved domain in tobacco control. The objective of this study was to describe the evolution of strategies used by tobacco companies to encourage uptake of LCCs and to describe industry research findings on consumer perceptions of flavored LCC products.

Method: Qualitative analysis of internal tobacco industry documents triangulated with data from tobacco advertisement archives, national newspapers, trade press, and Internet.

Results: Internally, flavored little cigar and cigarillo products have been associated with young and inexperienced tobacco users. Internal studies confirmed that menthol flavor and candy-like sweeter flavors (e.g., cherry) could increase appeal to starters by masking the heavy cigar taste and reducing throat irritation. Flavors made the product easier to inhale, which contributed to the initiation and maintenance of LCCs. Furthermore, to appeal to new users, little cigar manufacturers reduced the size of cigars to make them more cigarette-like, introduced filters and flavored filter tips, emphasized mildness and ease of draw in advertising, evoked associations with cigarettes, and featured actors inhaling the little cigar smoke in television commercials promoting the product.

Discussion: Flavors in LCCs tend to make these products more attractive and palatable to new users. While fruit, candy, alcohol flavored cigarettes have been banned, flavored little cigars and cigarillos continue to be sold. Bans on flavored cigarettes should be expanded to include flavored LCCs due to their appeal to new users. Future tobacco use prevention initiatives should be adapted to ensure they are inclusive of LCC use.