Teenagers who smoke blunts often pick up cigarillo smoking as a separate tobacco habit
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.
Quick Facts
What This Study 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.
Key Numbers
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 They Did This
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.
Why This Research 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 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.
What This Study Doesn't 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.
Questions This Raises
- ?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?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 83% of teen cigarillo smokers also used them for marijuana blunts
- Evidence Grade:
- This is a small qualitative study providing preliminary evidence of social mechanisms driving cigarillo-blunt co-use in adolescents.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2018 with data from 2015-2016.
- Original Title:
- The Social Context of Adolescent Co-Use of Cigarillos and Marijuana Blunts.
- Published In:
- Substance use & misuse, 53(4), 654-661 (2018)
- Authors:
- Antognoli, Elizabeth, Koopman Gonzalez, Sarah, Trapl, Erika, Cavallo, David, Lim, Rock, Lavanty, Brittany, Flocke, Susan
- Database ID:
- RTHC-01577
Evidence Hierarchy
Uses interviews or focus groups to understand experiences in depth.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Can smoking blunts lead to tobacco addiction?
This study found that teens who used cigarillos for marijuana blunts frequently developed a separate tobacco cigarillo habit, averaging 13 per week as a standalone product. The social context of sharing and the belief that cigarillos enhance the marijuana high reinforced the tobacco use.
Do teens use cigarillos as a substitute for marijuana?
Yes, the study found that when marijuana was unavailable or its use was being monitored, teens would smoke plain cigarillos instead, essentially using tobacco to fill the behavioral gap left by restricted marijuana access.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-01577APA
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
MLA
Antognoli, Elizabeth, et al. "The Social Context of Adolescent Co-Use of Cigarillos and Marijuana Blunts.." Substance use & misuse, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2017.1355388
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "The Social Context of Adolescent Co-Use of Cigarillos and Ma..." RTHC-01577. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/antognoli-2018-the-social-context-of
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.