Little Cigar and Cigarillo Beliefs and Behaviors among African-American Young Adults.

Abstract

To inform the development of future research and culturally-targeted interventions to address little cigar and cigarillo (LCC) use among an at-risk population: African-American (AA) young adults. Additionally, this project assesses LCC use and perception differences between college- and non-college attending AA young adults who use LCCs. Separate focus groups with college and non-college attending AA young adult LCC users assessed participants' attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral controls regarding LCC use, which was guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior. A thematic analysis following standard qualitative methods procedures revealed 5 themes. Participants shared overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward LCC use, ubiquitous use in their communities, and limited barriers to use. Additionally, participants had difficulty separating LCC and marijuana use practices because LCCs often served as carriers for marijuana. There were no substantive differences between the college and non-college samples with respect to overall themes. Future research should assess LCC intended versus altered use and create culturally relevant intervention measures.