According to 2017 sales data, Marlboro is the most popular cigarette brand in the United States, with sales greater than the next seven leading competitors combined.1
The three most heavily advertised brands—Marlboro, Newport, and Camel—continue to be the preferred brands of cigarettes smoked by young people
Industry Marketing Practices
Tobacco industry marketing practices can influence the brands that certain groups prefer. For example:2
The packaging and design of certain cigarette brands appeal to adolescents and young adults.
Historically, menthol cigarettes have been targeted heavily toward certain racial/ethnic groups, especially African Americans.
Among African American adult, adolescent, and young adult cigarette smokers, the most popular brands are all mentholated.
Cigarettes with brand names containing words such as “thins” and “slims” have been manufactured to be longer and slimmer than traditional cigarettes to appeal directly to women—e.g., Virginia Slims and Capri brands.
Brand Characteristics
Of all the cigarettes sold in the United States in 2018—3
99.7% were filtered
36.0% were mentholated brands
Use of mentholated brands varies widely by race/ethnicity. The percentage of current smokers aged 12 years or older who reported using mentholated brands in 2012-2014 was:4
84.6% Non-Hispanic black
46.9% Hispanic
38.0% Non-Hispanic Asian
28.9% Non-Hispanic White
Before 2010, manufacturers were allowed to label cigarettes as “light” or “ultra light” if they delivered less than 15 mg of tar when measured by an automated smoking machine.5
Such labeling allowed tobacco companies to deliberately misrepresent “light” cigarettes as being less harmful and an acceptable alternative to quitting smoking.6
The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, however, prohibits use of terms like “light,” “low,” and “mild” on tobacco product labels.7