Preference for flavoured cigar brands among youth, young adults and adults in the USA.
BACKGROUND
While cigarette consumption in the USA continues to decline, cigar consumption has increased. Tobacco-trade publications suggest that flavoured cigars are driving the recent growth in cigar consumption. Limited survey data exist to explore flavoured cigar preferences among youth and adults.


METHODS
This study used the 2010-2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and Nielsen market scanner data. The NSDUH sample consisted of 6678 past 30-day cigar smokers who reported smoking a usual brand of cigars. NSDUH contains a measure on usual cigar brand smoked and was merged with Nielsen data to estimate the per cent of each cigar brand's market share that is flavoured.


RESULTS
Multivariate analyses indicate that youth, young adults, females, blacks, cigarette smokers, blunt users and daily cigar smokers are significantly more likely to report a usual cigar brand that is flavoured. Preference for a usual brand that produces flavoured cigars decreases significantly with age.


CONCLUSIONS
This study finds recent growth in flavoured cigar consumption and preference among youth and young adults for cigar brands that are flavoured. These findings underscore the need to expand monitoring of product attributes as well as individual-level cigar use behaviours captured through population surveillance.
Center for Tobacco Surveillance & Evaluation Research, Rutgers-School of Public Health, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Cristine D
CD
Delnevo
Center for Tobacco Surveillance & Evaluation Research, Rutgers-School of Public Health, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Daniel P
DP
Giovenco
Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
Bridget K
BK
Ambrose
Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
Catherine G
CG
Corey
Division of Epidemiology, Services, and Prevention Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
Kevin P
KP
Conway
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D055697:Taste Perception; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
Non-cigarette tobacco products; Surveillance and monitoring; Tobacco industry