Addictive Potential of LCCs in Dual Users

March 5, 2026 updated by: Erin Mead-Morse, UConn Health

Addictive Potential of Little Cigars/Cigarillos in Dual Users: Effect by Flavor and Gender

This study is about whether or not little cigars and cigarillos cause or maintain addiction, and if flavors, such as fruit, make them more addictive. The purpose of this study is to understand the addiction potential of little cigars and cigarillos compared to cigarettes in young adults who smoke both products. This study will also look at the differences between men and women. In the rest of this form, little cigars or cigarillos will be referred to as LCCs.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
65

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Connecticut
      • Farmington, Connecticut, United States, 06030
        • UConn Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 34 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Current regular dual user of little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs) and cigarettes, defined as: (a) report smoking cigarettes on ≥ 8 of the past 30 days, and (b) report smoking unaltered LCCs (without marijuana) on ≥ 8 of the past 30 days.
  • Able to speak, read and understand English
  • Age 18-34 years of age
  • Stable residence (not planning to move during study period)
  • Not intending to quit smoking cigarettes or LCCs within the next 2 weeks
  • An expired carbon monoxide (CO) level of at least 4 ppm of expired air to verify smoking status

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant for women (verified by urine pregnancy test at Visits 1 and 2)
  • Current use of (or plans to use in the next 2-3 weeks) nicotine replacement products or cessation products (e.g., bupropion) to minimize confounding effects of another product)
  • Positive breath alcohol screen (breath alcohol level (BAL) > 0 g/ml; one re-test allowed; assessed at Visits 1, 2, and 3)
  • Illicit drug use other than marijuana (verified by positive drug toxicology test at Visits 1 and 3; one re-test allowed)
  • Met criteria for Cannabis Dependence assessed by the Cannabis Use Disorders Identification Test-Revised (CUDIT-R)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Flavored LCCs
Half of the group will start with a flavored little cigar/cigarillo (LCC) and cross over to unflavored LCC. The LCCs will be a popular brand already available for sale on the market.
Other: Flavored and unflavored little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs)
Flavored and unflavored LCCs that are currently available for purchase
Experimental: Unflavored LCCs
Half of the group will start with an unflavored little cigar/cigarillo (LCC) and cross over to flavored LCC. The LCCs will be a popular brand already available for sale on the market.
Other: Flavored and unflavored little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs)
Flavored and unflavored LCCs that are currently available for purchase

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Demand Elasticity
Time Frame: Post-treatment (after being assigned to use it for 7 days)
Hypothetical consumption of LCCs as prices increase. These are the model-adjusted predicted mean values of elasticity, adjusted for covariates. It is the expected change in consumption for a one unit change in price.
Post-treatment (after being assigned to use it for 7 days)
Demand Intensity
Time Frame: Post-treatment (after 7 days of being assigned to condition)
Hypothetical consumption when free. These are the model-adjusted predicted mean values of intensity, adjusted for covariates.
Post-treatment (after 7 days of being assigned to condition)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
UConn Health

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Erin L Mead, PhD,MHS, UConn Health, Farmington, CT

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 28, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 5, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 5, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 12, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 5, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 18-091-1

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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