Fruit and Sweet Flavors in Cigars appealing young smokers

Flavored cigars are very popular among young cigar smokers. More and more college student are buying flavored cigars from cigars shop. There are a variety of flavors available in cigar shops such as cherry, chocolate, white grape and fruit punch. Youngsters especially teenagers are attracted to these flavors of cigars. And these fruit and sweet flavors are selling like hotcakes at the cigar shop.  

White grape, cherry delight, chocolate, and fruit punch may sound like candy flavors. But now cigars shop are selling cigars with these tastes, often to teens.

According to John Abraham with Smoker’s Heaven in Kansas City, the flavored cigars and cigarillos are big sellers anong his younger customers.

“I had to keep at least four to five boxes in stock," Abraham noted saying some brands, “come out with, I don’t know how many flavors, tons of flavors. Every week theyr'e launching something new.”

A shows that even middle school students are smoking them.

College student Anessa Walker isn't surprised flavored cigars are popular. She's also not surprised more high schoolers are smoking cigars.Walker believes it is all in the flavors.

“We like sweet stuff and it just, like makes you want to do it and become popular,” she said.

Walker and other teens from the Hickman Mills Prevention Coalition already spent 2012 getting the city council to require flavored cigar paper – often referred to as blunt wraps- to be put behind store counters and out of reach of teens.

Now as a Hickman grad and part of the group Students Overcoming Life’s Obstacles, or SOLO, Walker still works to spread the message that these cigars aren't such a sweet deal.

“It’s also our fault, too, because we have to take ownership for what we do, too,” Walker said. “Just because its sweet doesn't mean we have to do it.”

Abraham's store does its part, turning away minors, but it doesn't stop them from trying.

“Underage people come in and ask for it, we don’t even give it,” Abraham said. “We check the age and we say no.”

But even for adults, the store has still had to keep more and more of these sweet-selling goods on the shelf.