title: Characteristics and Patterns of Black & Mild Use Among African American Smokers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increased consumption of little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs) among late adolescent and young adult African American smokers is an emerging public health concern. Despite a growing body of epidemiological evidence, there is scant research on systematic variations in LCC use among young adult African Americans. This study aimed to disaggregate African American Black & Mild (B&M) smokers and to identify subgroups of cigarillo smokers' behaviors and associated characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using telephone screening data for a NIH-funded clinical laboratory study of toxicant exposure associated with B&M use, latent class analysis (LCA) was used to classify 331 African American B&M smokers' based on daily use, average daily consumption, preference for flavors, preference for product design tips, and product modification behaviors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results showed five classes, three of which (Daily-Hypers, Daily-Flavored, and Heavy-Daily-Hypers) reflected daily use and average daily consumption rate ranging between 2.7 and 8.9 B&M cigarillos per day. Non-Daily-Hypers and Non-Daily-Flavored classes represented non-daily use patterns and averaged less than 1.0 B&M cigarillo per day. Both sets of classes defined by daily users and non-daily users included smokers who preferred flavored tobacco and who practiced product modification techniques involving hyping and blunting.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Latent class analysis is a useful method to detect subtle differences in B&M product preferences and smoking behaviors among African Americans. Study findings highlight the importance of developing tailored interventions that consider within group differences in order to reduce the prevalence of cigarillo smoking among those with the greatest burden.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current study is the first to identify unique subgroups of African American B&M smokers based on cigarillo use behaviors and associated characteristics. Latent class analyses may prove useful for understanding other subgroups of tobacco users. Current findings concerning patterns of LCC use illustrate how future tobacco cessation and prevention interventions may be tailored for African American smokers.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry, and Innovation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA; anasim@vcu.edu.
authors.forename: Aashir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nasim
authors.affiliation: Department of African American Studies and Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA;
authors.forename: Mignonne C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Guy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA;
authors.forename: Eric K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Soule
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA;
authors.forename: Caroline O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Cobb
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, VA.
authors.forename: Melissa D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Blank
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Center for the Study of Tobacco Products, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA;
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eissenberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D005421:Flavoring Agents; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000639:trends*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D062789:Tobacco Products; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005421:Flavoring Agents