I don't think the Graffiti is marketed towards kids. It's part of their Brooklyn background, where JD is from. Also, no savvy cigar company is going to market to kids, they're not a money strapped segment of the population. DE is aware that infused cigars are on the chopping block, but why would they stop printing money until they legally have to? They sell more Acid Blondies than almost every other company sells their entire product lines.
That being said, I can't stand them, wouldn't smoke themem, but from a business perspective, I understand it. A lot of military, cops, firefighters, and bikers smoke acids. I have yet to meet a teenager that's into shelling out $10 for a cigar, most of them are into their vaper pens, which are certainly marketed towards kids.
It is a fact that most kids start their tobacco journey smoking flavored cigarettes or cigars. Acid makes cigarillos for a buck a pop, or less. A corona can be had for around $6. I sold a lot of cheap Acids on and off during 2020 and 2021...as the pandemic would allow. All of them to guys in their early 20's.
Data from tobaccofreekids.org:
"Historically, cigar manufacturers designed flavored cigars to serve as “starter” smokes for youth
and young adults because the flavors helped mask the harshness, making the products easier to smoke.
Recently, there has been an explosion of cheap, flavored cigars. Sales of cigars (i.e., large cigars,
cigarillos, and small cigars) have more than doubled between 2000 and 2020, from 6.2 billion cigars to
13.2 billion cigars, and sales have been generally increasing at a time when cigarette smoking has been declining.
"Data from all Nielsen-tracked channels* show that 47.5% of all cigars sold in the first half of 2020
were flavored. During that same period, 48.3% of cigarillos (which made up 94.2% of overall cigar
sales) sold were flavored; 48.5% of little cigars sold were flavored; and 15.8% of large cigars sold
were flavored.
"The top five most popular cigar brands among 12- to 17-year olds who have used cigars – Swisher
Sweets, Black & Mild, Backwoods, White Owl, and Dutch Masters – all come in flavor varieties."
There are currently over 17,000 artists living in Brooklyn. But then Acid was not designed to attract a sophisticated customer base. Hence, graffiti that looks like cartoons.
JD knows full well that his splashy artwork gets noticed by everyone.
Drew is not immune to the above facts. His cigarillos are one of Acid's main sources of sales.