Little Cigars, Filtered Cigars, and their Carbonyl Delivery Relative to Cigarettes

Abstract

IntroductionLittle cigars and filtered cigars are currently growing in popularity due to their low cost and wide variety of flavors while retaining an appearance similar to cigarettes. Given the health consequences associated with cigarette use, it is important to understand the potential harm associated with these similar products. This includes the potential harm associated with carbonyls (eg, acetaldehyde, acrolein, formaldehyde, etc.), an important class of toxicants and carcinogens in tobacco smoke. Our objective was to determine the carbonyl levels in mainstream smoke from little and filtered cigars compared to cigarettes.MethodsWe examined two brands each of little cigars and filtered cigars, as well as two research cigarettes for carbonyl delivery using the International Organization of Standards (ISO) and the Health Canada Intense (HCI) machine-smoking protocols.ResultsOn a per puff basis, the levels of five of the seven carbonyls were higher from little cigars than filtered cigars and cigarettes (ISO: 56–116%; HCI: 39–85%; p < .05). On a per unit basis, most carbonyl levels were higher from both cigar types than cigarettes using the ISO method (ISO: 51–313%; p < .05) whereas only filtered cigars were higher using the HCI method (HCI: 53–99%; p < .05).ConclusionThese findings suggest that cigar smokers can be exposed to higher levels of carbonyls per cigar than cigarette smokers per cigarette.ImplicationsThese data will increase our understanding of the relative harm from carbonyl exposure from little and filtered cigars both for cigar-only smokers and the cumulative harm among the growing population of cigarette–cigar multi-product smokers.

Patterns and Correlates of Multiple Tobacco Product Use in the United States

“… 26 Focusing on the products themselves, Reilly et al examined two brands each of little cigars and filtered cigars, as well as two research cigarettes for carbonyl delivery and found that cigar smokers are exposed to higher levels of carbonyls per cigar than cigarette smokers per cigarette. 27 These data advance an understanding of the potential relative harm from carbonyl exposure for cigar-only smokers and the cumulative harm among the population of cigarette–cigar polytobacco users. 27 …”

“… 27 These data advance an understanding of the potential relative harm from carbonyl exposure for cigar-only smokers and the cumulative harm among the population of cigarette–cigar polytobacco users. 27 …”

“… 18 , 20–23 , 26 Four other papers used different time-based ranges, one looking at past-week cigarillo and cigarette use, 16 one looking at past 6-month use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and hookah, 19 and the other two papers defined polytobacco use as currently using more than one product every day or some days. 24 , 25 The remaining two papers do not fit into these categories as one does not define use because they studied the products themselves 27 and the other used ecological momentary assessment methods to assess frequency (days smoked) and amount (products smoked per day). 17 As definitions and analytic approaches evolve, results across studies should reveal whether definitions such as concurrent past 30-day use are the most appropriate measures to fully understand the impact of polytobacco use on nicotine dependence, smoking cessation, individual-level health effects, and net population health impact.…”

Carbonyl Compounds in Mainstream Smoke of Hemp Cigarettes

“…Our results are consistent with previous publications analyzing carbonyl content in smoke produced from conventional and reference tobacco cigarettes using the HCI regime. 19,[25][26][27][28] In all pairwise comparisons of the Brand A cigarette, the smoke contained significantly lower yields of acetaldehyde, acetone, propionaldehyde, and 2-butanone (Figs. 1 and 2).…”

Impact of electronic nicotine delivery systems and other respondent characteristics on tobacco use transitions among a U.S. national sample of women of reproductive age

“…However, these studies did not examine characteristics that predicted whether women continued smoking cigarettes, transitioned to ENDS, or quit all tobacco. Identifying those variables associated with continued use of cigarettes and/or other combusted products used like cigarettes (i.e., filtered cigars and cigarillos) (Reilly et al, 2018;Richardson et al, 2012), transitioning to ENDS, or quitting tobacco, could provide valuable insights to policymakers at the FDA. The FDA extended their authority to regulate ENDS in 2016 (United States Food and Drug Administration, 2016) and await research that informs regulatory policy surrounding these products.…”