Stores in areas dominated by young people had far more ads for little cigars, compared to markets in other neighborhoods. Many ads were outside the store, so people didn’t even have to go in to be wooed. And they were clearly targeted to a youthful eye. Cantrell says, “They’re almost indistinguishable from candy packaging; they tend to be bright and colorful. One ad looks like a big box of colorful crayons.”
And the price is right, too. Unlike cigarettes, which cost about $6.50 a pack and can’t be sold individually, little cigars are wrapped in packages of one, two or three and average about 99 cents per cigar. Some cost as little as 25 cents.
The Altria company, which makes one of the most popular brand of cigarillos, says they market to adult tobacco smokers, not to children. A spokesman said in an emailed response to NPR: “The company designs its marketing programs to enhance brand awareness, recognition and loyalty among adult tobacco smokers to grow market share. At retail, we present our brands to legal-aged tobacco smokers at the point of purchase.”