Quitting Smoking With … Smoke? Unauthorized Claims Used by Herbal Cigarette Manufacturers.

Introduction: Herbal cigarettes are made with non-tobacco plant materials (eg, tea leaves, hemp), are typically sold pre-rolled in packs and with filters, and are combusted and smoked like tobacco cigarettes. Herbal cigarette manufacturers have a history of making misleading health claims and at least one company has previously settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over deceptive advertising. This study examined current claims and product characteristics of herbal cigarettes sold by a popular online retailer.

Aims and methods: We searched Amazon.com for "herbal cigarettes" and "hemp cigarettes" and identified all herbal cigarette products sold on the first page of search results (n = 51). Two coders independently content analyzed each product's Amazon page for claims (eg, smoking cessation, health), product characteristics (eg, flavors), and presence of disclaimers and warnings.

Results: Overall, 78.4% of product pages made smoking cessation claims (eg, "A more scientific way to quit smoking," "…decreases nicotine craving symptom and helps to quit tobacco smoking"). Further, 45.1% of product pages included claims describing lower risk/exposure compared to tobacco products (eg, "…without the addictive nicotine and toxic chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes"). Some herbal products were available in multiple flavors, including menthol (21.6%) and fruit (17.7%). Only 35.3% of products included visible health warnings on product packaging.

Conclusions: Many herbal cigarette products sold on Amazon.com make unauthorized cessation and health claims. Regulatory agencies must act decisively to stop the misleading advertising of these products and develop appropriate warnings to educate the public about the potential harms.

Implications: This content analysis documents the use of unauthorized and misleading claims made in the marketing of herbal cigarettes. These findings highlight the need for enforcement of existing federal regulations, which prohibit deceptive advertising. Research is needed to inform the development of appropriate warning labels that can be used to inform consumers of the potential harms of smoking herbal cigarettes.