What's Your Flavor? Legacy's First Look Report indicates a variety of cigarette options are available to youth consumers It's safe to say that teenagers have preferences with brand named merchandise. Now cigarettes can be included on the list of many consumer goods with which teens affiliate, based on brand preference. A recent study by the American Legacy Foundation reveals that among the most popular cigarette brands with teen audiences are those that feature menthol and light options. Before they were taken off the market as the result of litigation by the attorneys general, candy and exotic flavored cigarettes were also popular with teens. Marlboro, Camel, and Newport are the top three, with 78 percent of youth choosing one of them as their brand of choice. The report also documents that cigarette preference is influenced by race and ethnicity. For example, only 12 percent of African American youth smoke Marlboros compared to 53 percent of White youth and 62 percent of Hispanics. However, 81 percent of African American smokers prefer menthol cigarettes. The report goes on to note that nearly 40 percent of youth report usually smoking cigarettes labeled "light", "ultra light" or "mild." This is one indication that youth may view cigarettes labeled as "light" to be less harmful to their health, and in fact the opposite can be true. Flavored cigarettes were also popular among youth smokers, with 11% of youth smokers having tried them and another 52 percent interested in trying. As Legacy's President and CEO Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. P.H. noted, "the tobacco industry spends nearly $36 million marketing its products each day, it's not surprising that American youth have particular cigarette type preferences." "Every day 4,000 American youth try their first cigarette and this survey shows us that the tobacco industry's effective marketing drives their decisions to smoke specific cigarettes," said Healton. Click here to review the report — http://www.americanlegacy.org/162.htm