Cigarillo

A cigarillo (from Spanish cigarrillo 'cigarette'; in turn from cigarro 'cigar', and -illo (diminutive suffix); pronounced [siɣaˈriʝo] in parts of Latin America, [θiɣaˈriʎo] in Spain) is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped in tobacco leaves or brown, tobacco-based paper. Cigarillos are smaller than regular cigars but usually larger than cigarettes. Cigarillos are usually made without filters, and are meant to be smoked like a cigar and not inhaled (except those made in this form only for specific tax issues).

Generally, a cigarillo contains about three grams of tobacco; the length varies from seven to ten centimetres (3–4 in) and the diameter is about 6–9 mm, usually 8 mm. Comparatively, a cigarette contains less than one gram of tobacco, and is about eight centimetres (3 in) in length and 8 mm in diameter. Most cigarillos are machine-made, which is cheaper than hand-rolling. It is unusual to store them in humidors, partly because they are smoked in large quantities and so have a short shelf-life.

Cheap cigarillos are typically marketed as a brand rather than with the term cigarillo. In the United Kingdom, common consumer brands include Henri Wintermans Signature (formerly Café Creme) and Hamlets. In the rest of Europe, they include Dannemann Moods, Candlelight, Agio Panters and Mehari's, Clubmaster and Handelsgold are popular. In the United States, they include Swisher Sweets, Black & Mild, Backwoods, Dutch Masters, Garcia Y Vega, Game, Optimo, Good Times, and Phillies. Some famous cigar brands, such as Cohiba or Davidoff, also make cigarillos: Cohiba Mini and Davidoff Club Cigarillos.

In Spanish-speaking countries, as well as in the Philippines, cigarrillo means a cigarette. Anglo-Americans were first introduced to 'cigarrillos' on a massive scale during their conquest of New Mexico and California in the American-Mexican War 1846-1848. It was observed that, "Both sexes smoke cigarrillos almost incessantly."