Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jul;28(4):394-400.
doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2018-054348. Epub 2018 Aug 1.

National and state patterns of concept-flavoured cigar sales, USA, 2012-2016

Doris G Gammon  1 , Todd Rogers  1 , Ellen M Coats  1 , James M Nonnemaker  1 , Kristy L Marynak  2 , Nicole M Kuiper  2 , Brian A King  2
Affiliations

National and state patterns of concept-flavoured cigar sales, USA, 2012-2016

Doris G Gammon et al. Tob Control. 2019 Jul.

Abstract

Introduction: Cigar sales have increased in the USA in recent years. A growing proportion of cigar sales are of flavoured varieties, many bearing ambiguous or 'concept' flavour descriptions (eg, Jazz). This study assessed US cigar sales by flavour category (ie, concept flavoured, characterising flavoured and tobacco), at national, regional and state levels.

Methods: Sales of cigarillos, large cigars and little cigars from chain, franchise and convenience stores, mass merchandisers, supermarkets, drug, dollar and club stores, and military commissaries during 2012-2016 were acquired from the Nielsen Company. US national-level and state-level sales, including District of Columbia, were analysed by flavour category. Flavour descriptors were classified as 'tobacco', 'characterising' or 'concept', based on Universal Product Code (UPC)-linked characteristics and brand website and consumer review descriptions.

Results: Cigar sales increased by 29% during 2012-2016, driven by a 78% increase in cigarillo sales. The proportion of concept-flavoured sales increased from 9% to 15%, while the proportion of sales decreased for tobacco (50% to 49%) and characterising flavours (eg, cherry) (41% to 36%). Cigarillos had the greatest increase in unique concept flavour descriptions (17 to 46 unique UPCs), with most sales occurring among Sweet, Jazz and Green Sweets concept flavours. By US region, total and concept-flavoured cigarillo sales were highest in the South.

Conclusions: Flavoured cigars are increasingly labelled with concept flavours, including in areas with flavoured tobacco sales restrictions. Cigarillos are driving recent increases in US cigar and concept-flavoured cigar sales. It is important to consider concept flavours when addressing flavoured tobacco product sales and use.

Keywords: non-cigarette tobacco products; packaging and labelling; public policy; srveillance and monitoring.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average monthly per capita cigar unit sales by flavour status and cigar type, USA, 2012 and 2016. Note: One unit equals 1 large cigar or 2 cigarillos or 20 little cigars. Note: Cigar flavour descriptors were classified as ‘tobacco’ if they were listed as ‘original,’ ‘natural,’ had no flavour descriptor or had a concept-tobacco descriptor as described by brand websites and user reviews; ‘characterising’ if they related to fruit, food, beverages or spices; or ‘concept’ if they were not classified as characterising or tobacco and were described as having a characterising flavour on brand websites or user reviews.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Average monthly per capita concept-flavoured cigarillo unit sales, US states, 2012 and 2016. Note: One unit = two cigarillos. Note: Average monthly equivalent unit sales per capita were significantly higher in 2016 than in 2012 for all states (P<0.01).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Average monthly per capita concept-flavoured cigarillo unit sales by top concept flavours, USA, 2012–2016 Note: one unit = two cigarillos.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). The health consequences of smoking—50 years of progress. A report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. Printed with corrections, 2014.
    1. Cullen J, Mowery P, Delnevo C, et al. Seven-year patterns in US cigar use epidemiology among young adults aged 18–25 years: a focus on race/ethnicity and brand. Am J Public Health 2011;101:1955–62. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang TW, Kenemer B, Tynan MA, et al. Consumption of combustible and smokeless tobacco - United States, 2000–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:1357–63. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health HHS Publication No. SMA 16–4984, NSDUH Series H-51). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2016.
    1. Wang TW, Gentzke A, Sharapova S, et al. Tobacco product use among middle and high school students - United States, 2011–2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:629–33. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances