Clevelanders: Lighting up in a new way

(Press-News.org) Contact information: Jessica Studeny
Jessica.studeny@case.edu
216-368-4692
Case Western Reserve University
Clevelanders: Lighting up in a new way New data brief shows little cigar use up in young adults A new data brief released by the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods at Case Western Reserve University (PRCHN) shows that more than one-in-five African-American young adults in Cleveland, ages 18 to 29, routinely uses little cigars.

Additional findings detailed in the PRCHN data brief include:

Little cigar use in Cleveland is 7.1 percent overall, but it is highest among black/African-American young adults age 18-29, where as many as one in five (22.0 percent) uses little cigars.

Black/African-American males are more than twice as likely to use little cigars as black/African-American females (13.5 percent vs. 5.8 percent), as are white males compared to white females (6.2 percent vs. 1.9 percent).

"There is more to tobacco use than cigarettes and we can no longer ignore the use of cigars," said Erika Trapl, PhD, associate director of the PRCHN. "These are often an underappreciated threat since they do not fall under the same regulatory guidelines as cigarettes."

Little cigars and cigarillos, wrapped in brightly colored packaging, are often enhanced with fruity flavors that appeal to youth and adults alike. They are sold as singles or in two-or three-packs. Despite their "fun" look, these cigars contain a substantial amount of nicotine and could lead smokers to a lifetime of tobacco addiction.

"Manufacturers can use ploys to promote these products that are now illegal to promote cigarettes," noted Trapl.

The PRCHN data brief was compiled using five years of local survey data detailing compiled from the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and includes differences in little cigar use among Cleveland adults by age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study earlier detailing the dangers of little cigars, particularly for youth.

With an eye on prevention efforts, last month Ohio raised taxes on some little cigars (those sold in packs of 20). However, these taxes do not apply to little cigars or cigarillos sold in smaller quantities.

### About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation's top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.

Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to Graduate Education."

The School of Medicine's primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu