A Qualitative Assessment of Blunt Smokers' Perceptions and Receptivity to Non-Tobacco Blunt Wraps

The recent debut of the non-tobacco blunt wrap (N-TBW) for smoking cannabis has received little attention from the tobacco control community. The present study is intended to assess blunt smokers' perceptions and receptivity to N-TBWs, which are being marketed as an alternative to cigarillos and other tobacco products used for making blunts.

Current blunt smokers (n = 41) were recruited from social media platforms to participate in one of nine 2-hour focus groups held between October 2022 and May 2023. Six topics ranging from social aspects of blunt smoking to impediments to switching to N-TBWs were discussed. A domain analysis was used to uncover semantic relationships between a given variable (e.g., uneven burn rate) and outcome (e.g., not using N-TBWs).

Blunt smokers conveyed interest in the N-TBWs because of health concerns about tobacco. Yet, the following three main barriers impede blunt smokers' use of N-TBWs: lack of awareness and accessibility of the N-TBW, familiarity with preparing and smoking a traditional blunt, and incomparability of the tobacco blunt wrap (e.g., cigarillo). The latter was the most formidable challenge because participants expressed several negative product features of N-TBWs (e.g., flimsy material) relative to cigarillos.

The N-TBW is unlikely to displace the cigarillo in the near future. A more likely scenario is that blunt smokers will continue to use cigarillos with intermittent use of N-TBWs in situational settings. If this occurs, then blunt smokers will continue to be exposed to harmful tobacco products.