Despite the federal prohibition on selling tobacco products without the required warning label, merchants sometimes remove cigarettes from the packages and sell them individually. Retailers are significantly more likely to sell loosies to minors than to adults.
Children generally have little disposable income.
At 15 to 25 cents each, single cigarettes are attractive to price-sensitive youngsters. Children who are considering experimenting with tobacco may be less intimidated with buying a single cigarette as a first step. Data suggests that there is a higher rate of single-cigarette sales to minors in minority neighborhoods. Sale of single cigarettes can be expected to increase as the price of cigarettes continues to rise due to tobacco company price increases and higher taxes. Single cigarettes displayed in cups of trays are easier to shoplift.