New data out last week by the CDC has me deeply concerned about the growing popularity of cigars among our nation's youth. The latest numbers show that nearly as many high schoolers are using cigars (11.9 percent) as they are cigarettes (12.7 percent). Why? Because cigars remain unregulated, and the industry is taking full advantage of this by marketing to our kids. Many youth are smoking small cigars or cigarillos, a product designed to look like cigarettes with added flavorings that are prohibited for cigarettes. The industry is able to label these products as cigars because they add a little bit of leaf to the wrapping paper. Additionally, these products cost much less than cigarettes in most states, making them more affordable for younger smokers. Yet cigars and cigarillos still contain the same cancer-causing chemicals as cigarettes and other tobacco products. Even more troubling is the disparity in the youth who smoke all forms of cigars. According to the CDC, compared to cigarette use, cigar use is 50 percent higher among non-Hispanic black high school students and more than two times as high among non-Hispanic black middle school students. The tobacco industry is very aware of this trend and unscrupulously markets its products to entice these teens to pick up the deadly habit. Perhaps what is most disturbing is that the FDA only currently regulates cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, while the tobacco industry aggressively markets numerous unregulated tobacco products such as cigars, cigarillos, snus and e-cigarettes to teens. Earlier this year, the FDA proposed to regulate all tobacco products, but there was a question in the proposal about whether or not they should exempt cigars from regulation. We strongly believe that no tobacco product should be exempt from regulation by the FDA, and we're calling on the agency to quickly finalize this proposal without exemptions and begin putting much needed restrictions on all tobacco products so they can begin to protect our youth from the health dangers all of these products pose. (To read more about ACS CAN's view of the FDA proposal, see our comments, as well as comments with our public health partners.) Until then, the industry will continue to profit off of their deadly products by growing its consumer base through addicting our teens to cigars and other unregulated products.
Today’s blog is one of a series of posts highlighting how ACS CAN is examining, prioritizing and pursuing policy interventions that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to prevent, find, treat and survive cancer. Achieving health equity in communities nationwide is a cornerstone of our mission.