How flavor rules, packaging, and policing messages shape young adults' cigar use
The C'RILLOS Project: Impact of Tobacco Regulatory Policy on Dynamic Use of Exclusive, Dual or Poly Cigar and Other Tobacco Product Use among Young Adults
This project looks at whether a flavor ban, cigar repackaging, and messages about policing and illicit trade change cigar use and opinions among African American and Hispanic/Latino young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11181627 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be asked to complete surveys about your use of little cigars, cigarillos, and other tobacco products and your reactions to packaging and advertising. Researchers will show example packaging and messages to see whether repackaging or rhetoric about policing makes you more or less likely to try or keep using flavored products. The project follows people over time to track whether non-users begin using and whether current users switch products, quit, or keep using. The findings are meant to help regulators and communities design policies and messages that better protect young adults in African American and Hispanic/Latino communities.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are African American or Hispanic/Latino young adults (e.g., about 18–34 years old) who currently use flavored little cigars/cigarillos, use multiple tobacco products, or are non-users at risk of starting.
Not a fit: Older adults, people outside the United States, or those not exposed to flavored little cigars/cigarillos or related marketing may not directly benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the results could help shape policies and public messages that reduce flavored little cigar and cigarillo use and protect young adults in affected communities.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research shows flavor restrictions can lower some youth and young-adult tobacco use, but the specific effects of product repackaging and anti-regulatory rhetoric are less studied, making this a relatively novel focus.
Where this research is happening
Newark, UNITED STATES
- Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences — Newark, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sterling, Kymberle L — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Sterling, Kymberle L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.