WASHINGTON -- "Sharp" increases in total adult consumption of pipe tobacco--often used for roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes--and "cigarette-like cigars" since 2008 have offset declines in total cigarette consumption, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
Although total cigarette consumption continued an 11-year downward trend with a 2.5% decline from 2010 to 2011, "dramatic" increases in use of noncigarette smoked tobacco products have slowed the long decline in overall consumption of smoked tobacco products.
From 2000 to 2011, the largest increases were in consumption of pipe tobacco (482%) and large cigars (233%). The increase in cigars was due largely to tobacco manufacturers adding weight to many small cigars so they can be classified as large cigars and avoid higher taxes and regulation, while at the same time retaining a size and shape very similar to cigarettes, claimed the CDC.
According to the report, total consumption of all smoked tobacco products (including cigarettes, RYO tobacco, pipe tobacco and cigars) declined by 27.5% between 2000 and 2011; however, decline was minimal (0.8%) between 2010 and 2011. Despite the overall decline, the consumption of noncigarette smoked tobacco products increased by 123%, it said.
The study, "Consumption of Cigarettes & Combustible Tobacco--United States, 2000-2011," published in this week's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report, uses U.S. Department of the Treasury data to calculate consumption for all forms of smoked tobacco products. CDC had previously not calculated consumption estimates, and depended upon consumption data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which USDA stopped reporting in 2007.
The report claimed that there is a disparity between consumption of cigarettes and other forms of smoked tobacco because the federal excise tax on pipe tobacco and RYO tobacco is lower than cigarettes. The difference led to a dramatic increase in the sale of pipe tobacco used to make RYO cigarettes, a lower-priced alternative to manufactured cigarettes.
A provision in a measure signed into law in July, the Transportation & Student Loan Interest Rate bill, could limit the advantage of this price difference, the agency said.
The difference in manufacturing and marketing restrictions between cigarettes and cigars also is a factor in the disparity, the report claimed. While the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits the use of flavoring or descriptors such as "light" or "low tar" in cigarettes, there are no such restrictions on cigars and pipe tobacco. it said.
Click here to view the full MMWR report.
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