Interviews with 30 adolescents revealed that marijuana blunt use frequently initiated and reinforced standalone tobacco cigarillo smoking, with 83% of cigarillo smokers also using them for blunts.
Read this if you or your teen uses blunts and you want to understand how they can lead to a separate tobacco habit.
83% of teen cigarillo smokers also used them for marijuana blunts
What the researchers found
Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 30 adolescents aged 14 to 18 who smoked at least one cigarillo per week. Nearly all participants (83%) reported using cigarillos both as tobacco products and as wrappers for marijuana blunts.
Three key social patterns emerged that drove the co-use of these products. First, group smoking and product sharing normalized the transition between cigarillo and blunt use. Second, many teens believed that cigarillos enhanced or extended the marijuana high. Third, cigarillos served as a substitute for blunts when marijuana was unavailable or when its use was being monitored by parents or authorities.
The participants averaged 13 cigarillos per week as a standalone tobacco product, indicating substantial tobacco use alongside their marijuana consumption. The findings suggest that marijuana use through blunts can serve as a gateway to tobacco addiction rather than the other way around.
Why it matters
The relationship between marijuana and tobacco use in adolescents is often discussed as tobacco leading to marijuana. This study reveals the reverse pathway: marijuana blunt smoking introduces and reinforces tobacco use through cigarillos. As marijuana becomes more accessible to young people, this tobacco-acquisition pathway could undermine tobacco prevention efforts.
The numbers in context
30 adolescents interviewed, ages 14-18. All smoked cigarillos as tobacco products, averaging 13 per week. 25 of 30 (83%) also used cigarillos for marijuana blunts. Study conducted December 2015 to April 2016.
How the study worked
This was a qualitative study using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 adolescents aged 14-18 recruited through purposive sampling. All reported smoking at least one cigarillo per week. Interviews captured smoking products, practices, preferences, beliefs, and experiences. Analysis followed a phenomenological approach to identify emergent themes.
What this study cannot tell us
The sample was small (30 participants) and recruited through purposive sampling from a single geographic area, limiting generalizability. Self-reported data may be subject to social desirability bias. The qualitative design identifies patterns but cannot establish prevalence or causal relationships.
How to read the evidence
This is a small qualitative study providing preliminary evidence of social mechanisms driving cigarillo-blunt co-use in adolescents.
When this study was published
Published in 2018 with data from 2015-2016.
The bigger picture
Blunts are one of the most common methods of marijuana consumption among young people, and each blunt involves hollowing out a tobacco cigarillo and refilling it with marijuana. This study shows that the cigarillo wrapper is not just an incidental delivery device but can become a tobacco habit in its own right, creating dual addiction risks.
Questions still open
- Does the availability of non-tobacco blunt wraps reduce tobacco initiation among young marijuana users? How does the nicotine in cigarillo wrappers contribute to the reinforcing properties of blunts? Would targeted education about the tobacco risks of blunt use reduce cigarillo adoption?
Common questions
Can smoking blunts lead to tobacco addiction?
Do teens use cigarillos as a substitute for marijuana?
Read the original research
The Social Context of Adolescent Co-Use of Cigarillos and Marijuana Blunts.
Substance use & misuse, 53(4), 654-661
Citation
Antognoli, Elizabeth; Koopman Gonzalez, Sarah; Trapl, Erika; Cavallo, David; Lim, Rock; Lavanty, Brittany; Flocke, Susan. (2018). The Social Context of Adolescent Co-Use of Cigarillos and Marijuana Blunts.. Substance use & misuse, 53(4), 654-661. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2017.1355388
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