tobacco

Press Release:

Berry Fusion, Maui Pineapple, and Cherry Dynamite. These are the candy flavors many young ghouls and ghosts will get while trick-or-treating this Halloween. They are also the same flavors our teens see in flavored little cigars and cigarillos marketed alongside candy at convenience stores and gas stations in their communities.

“They may sound like Halloween treats, but in reality they are Big Tobacco’s tricks for getting kids hooked on their products,” says Brittany Bozzer, Reality Check Youth Coordinator for Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming Counties (TF-GOW). 

Cigarillos, the more popular product, are short and narrow cigars that usually do not include a filter. Little cigars are the same size and shape as cigarettes, often include a filter, and are packaged in a similar way. Both are taxed differently than cigarettes.

Why flavored cigars are a concern. 

Bozzer and other public health leaders across the GOW region, New York State and the country are particularly concerned with the newest generation of cigars, including brand names like Swisher Sweets, Dutch Masters, Phillies and Black & Milds. A Swisher Sweet cigarillo contains about 10.8 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco. That’s more than a cigarette, which typically average 8 milligrams, and fuels youth addiction.

“Our biggest concern is that the sweet flavors improve the taste and mask the harshness of tobacco, making these products easier to use and more appealing to young people,” says Bozzer. “Flavors in cigars means more youth will start smoking them, progress to become regular users and potentially become addicted.”

According to 2023 study from the Truth Initiative, flavors are a major reason why young people use cigars, with 74% of adolescents who used cigars in the past month indicating that they used them “because they come in flavors I like.”

What they don’t know is that these cigars contain the same addictive, toxic and carcinogenic compounds found in cigarettes. Similar to e-cigarettes, cigars are sometimes marketed as being a healthier alternative to cigarettes but that is untrue. Health risks of flavored cigar smoking include gum disease, cancers of the larynx, esophagus and lungs, with daily cigar smokers having an increased risk of heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Co-use of cigarillos and marijuana. 

Studies show that many young people use cigarillos as “blunts,” a term for a cigar emptied of its tobacco and replaced with marijuana. Brands like Backwoods (Imperial Tobacco Brands LLC) even have product features, like honey, Russian creme and dark stout flavors, that enhance the blunt smoking experience as featured in the brand’s Instagram posts. Researchers believe this co-use behavior may play a role in promoting increased tobacco use and nicotine dependence.

Marketing to youth.

As new flavored cigars flood the marketplace, tobacco companies market them in bright, colorful packaging mimicking candy which threatens our teens, as well as New York State’s efforts to reduce tobacco use. According to a report from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, companies have also tricked us and our children by avoiding regulations, including new product marketing restrictions and tobacco taxes, contributing to the ongoing problem of youth use.

Cigar manufacturers use many strategies to attract young people including emphasizing flavors in advertisements, paying to place them on store countertops, engaging in fun and engaging social media trends, keeping prices low and introducing new and limited-edition flavors such as “harvest blend,” “summer fusion,” “sticky sweets” and “spiced rum.”

Good news: FDA proposes rule prohibiting flavored cigars. 

In April 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a proposed rule to prohibit all characterizing flavors in cigars based on clear evidence that all cigars increase health risks, but particularly, flavors. The rule noted that flavors increase the appeal of cigars and make them easier to use, especially for youth, and that removing flavored cigars from the market would reduce the number of youth who smoke cigars.

Why the FDA must act NOW. 

• Sales of all cigars more than doubled between 2000 and 2021, largely driven by increased sales of smaller types of cigars, many of which are flavored. 
• More than a half million youth in the U.S. use flavored cigars, and in recent years more young people tried a cigar every day than tried a cigarette. 
• The hundreds of flavored cigars make up about half of the cigar market and can be as cheap as 3 for 99 cents.
• In recent years, cigar makers have also introduced limited edition products described as “new” in flavors likely to be extremely appealing to youth. 

Preventing tobacco use among youth is a priority because tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the world.

This Halloween, let’s hope the FDA will give us a real treat and ban flavored cigars before they hook a new generation of smokers. 

Reality Check is a teen-led, adult-run program that seeks to prevent and decrease tobacco use among young people throughout New York State.  

For more information about Reality Check, visit realitycheckofny.org.  

Press Release:

Last week, Abbi Leone and Judith Newton, both juniors at Batavia High School, as well as Attica High School ninth graders Sophia Biniaszewski and Trinnity Whatle, joined more than fifty youths and advocates from nine national organizations to protest Altria Group, Inc.’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. 

These advocates held a demonstration outside Altria’s Washington, D.C. office, while several youth activists had proxy tickets to directly address Altria’s executives and ask questions during the virtual shareholders’ meeting.

“I’m so proud of Abbi, Judith, Sophia, and Trinnity for fighting against the manipulative tactics the tobacco industry uses to target them,” said Brittany Bozzer, Youth Coordinator at Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming (TF-GOW). “Now that they have shared their voice in Washington, D.C., they plan to continue to address the challenges of tobacco use in their communities back home, as well as mobilize their peers to take action.” 

This year marks the ninth consecutive year that Mobilize Against Tobacco Lies (MATL), a collaborative of youth programs and national partners, gathered to expose and fight back against the tobacco giant’s lies.

Reality Check youth from across New York State rallied with a coalition of tobacco control youth programs and national partners including Dover Youth to Youth of New Hampshire, Wisconsin FACT, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Traditional Tobacco Voices, American Indian Cancer Foundation, Corporate Accountability, Counter Tools, Center for Black Health and Equity and Truth Initiative.

Altria and its Philip Morris subsidiary sell the number one most popular cigarette brand among kids, Marlboro, and its John Middleton subsidiary sells one of the most popular cigar brands among kids, Black and Mild. Altria has a long history of targeting kids and other vulnerable groups with its products and invested in Juul at the height of the youth e-cigarette epidemic. 

Altria claims to be “moving beyond smoking,” but the truth is that they make most of their revenue from cigarettes and fight real efforts to reduce smoking – such as bans on menthol cigarettes.

Despite Altria and the tobacco industry’s efforts, the United States has made great progress in reducing youth smoking. However, the latest government survey shows that 2.8 million U.S middle and high school students still use tobacco products, including 2.13 million who use e-cigarettes.

Reality Check is a teen-led, adult-run program that seeks to prevent and decrease tobacco use among young people throughout New York State.  

For more information about Reality Check, visit realitycheckofny.org. 

Press Release:

Replacing the popularity of traditional cigarettes, the e-cigarette was introduced to the market around 2007. Typically branded as a safer alternative to traditional cigarette smoking, e-cigarettes work by using a battery to heat up liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and other additives and chemicals. Various flavors and scents have been used as a marketing technique to increase the appeal of e-cigarette smoking to young people.

According to the 2021 CLYDE Survey administered to 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students in Genesee and Orleans Counties by UConnectCare (formally GCASA):

• 3% of 7th grade students reported vaping with nicotine in the past 30 days
• 19.7% of 11th grade students reported vaping with nicotine in the past 30 days
• 11.1% of 11th grade students reported vaping with marijuana in the past 30 days

There are many reasons that teens and young adults vape, including peer pressure and wanting to fit in with their friends. However, no tobacco product is safe, especially for adolescents. Many teens believe that vaping is less harmful than smoking and find the lack of smoke and smell, appealing. Young people who believe that e-cigarettes cause no harm are more likely to use them. It is important for parents and educators to work together to teach adolescents about the health risks associated with e-cigarettes.

How can you talk to youth about vaping? Here are some tips: 

• Make sure you are aware of the facts first, before you talk with youth about vaping. To learn more about vaping, visit the CDC Website or the Surgeon General Website
• Consider what they are going through and put yourself in their shoes. Think about what pressures they face at school, at home, and with their friends. Encourage an open dialogue and have empathy throughout the conversation.
• Set a positive example by staying tobacco-free. If you use tobacco, it is never too late to quit. For more help or information on quitting, contact your healthcare provider. You can also text, chat or call the New York State Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) or visit the New York State Department of Health website.
• Wait for the right moment to start the conversation and try to have a more natural conversation, rather than a lecture.
• Avoid scare tactics and connect with what youth care about. 
• If you have questions or need support, talk with your healthcare provider.
• After you talk, let them know that you appreciate them for taking the time to listen and for being honest with you.
• Continue to follow-up and keep the lines of communication open. New vaping products such as vaping hoodies and vaping flash drives are introduced to youth on a regular basis. Continue to do your research and stay up to date on any new information related to vaping. 

For more information on GO Health programs and services, visit GOHealthNY.org or call your respective health department at:

• Genesee County: 585-344-2580 ext. 5555
• Orleans County: 585-589-3278

Follow GO Health on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at GOHealthNY.