What Do Adolescents and Young Adults Think a Cigarillo Is? Implications for Health Communication.

Seth M Noar,Jennifer Cornacchione Ross,Erin L Sutfin,Kimberly D Wiseman,David M Reboussin

doi:10.3390/ijerph18063311

Abstract

Cigarillo use has increased among adolescents and young adults and has remained high. Public education efforts are needed to communicate with these populations about cigarillo use risks, but little is known about the implications of using the term “cigarillo” in such efforts. The study goal was to assess adolescent and young adult perceptions of the term “cigarillo”. We conducted a nationally representative online survey of 3517 adolescents and young adults (ages 13–25). We asked participants “what is a cigarillo?” with several response options. Participants were 49.6% female, 69.8% white, 5.2% reported past 30-day cigarillo use, and 11.6% reported lifetime cigarillo use. The most common response to the question “what is a cigarillo” was “I don’t know” (51% of participants), followed by “a thinner and smaller version of a traditional cigar” (30.1% of participants), which was chosen by 19.4% of adolescents and 36.8% of young adults. Among past 30-day cigarillo users, the most common response was “I don’t know” (54.9%) followed by “a thinner and smaller version of a traditional cigar” (45.1%). Cigarillo users were more likely to select the “a thinner and smaller version of a traditional cigar” response than nonusers. Findings suggest that many adolescents and young adults have varied understandings of the term “cigarillo”. Researchers and practitioners need to ensure that terminology used in health communication campaigns is clearly understood by the target audience to maximize effectiveness.

Highlights

Cigarillos, a type of cigar product, pose a public health threat because their use causes significant health consequences, including addiction and several types of cancers [1].there are misperceptions about their risks, such as believing they are not addictive [2,3]
Cigarillos are under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so it is under its purview to communicate cigarillo health risks to the public [7], which can occur through public education campaigns
This study found that there is a general lack of understanding about the term “cigarillo” among adolescents and young adults, which suggests that future campaigns intended to target cigarillo use in this group need to be clear about what a cigarillo is

Summary

Introduction

Cigarillos, a type of cigar product, pose a public health threat because their use causes significant health consequences, including addiction and several types of cancers [1]. There are misperceptions about their risks, such as believing they are not addictive [2,3]. In the United States, cigar use among adolescents and young adults remains high, with 14.4% of adolescents (middle and high school students) and 44.5% of young adults (ages 18–24) reporting ever using a cigar [4,5]. Cigars were the second most common tobacco product used by adolescents in the United States in 2019 behind e-cigarettes, with more high school students reporting current use of cigars (7.6%) than cigarettes (5.8%) [5]. Cigarillos are under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so it is under its purview to communicate cigarillo health risks to the public [7], which can occur through public education campaigns (e.g., communication campaigns)

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