Natural American Spirit

Natural American Spirit (often referred to as American Spirit) is an American brand of cigarettes and other tobacco products, currently owned by Reynolds American and manufactured by the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company.

Natural American Spirit
Product typeCigarette
OwnerReynolds American
Produced bySanta Fe Natural Tobacco Company
CountryUnited States
Introduced1982 (1982)
MarketsSee Markets
Websitewww.nascigs.com

History

The company was founded in 1982 by Bill Drake, author of The Cultivators Handbook of Natural Tobacco, Robert Marion, Chris Webster, and Eb Wicks, a plumbing contractor who took out a loan to finance the startup.[1] In January 2002, the company was acquired by Reynolds American and is now a wholly owned independent subsidiary of Reynolds American, which is in turn 42% owned by British American Tobacco.[2] Japan Tobacco announced in September 2015 that it acquired the right to sell Natural American Spirit products in markets outside the United States.[3]

Markets
Display of Natural American Spirit in Japan in 2018

Natural American Spirit cigarettes have been sold in the United States, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Tunisia, Japan, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Finland and Denmark. [4][5][6][7]

Products

Natural American Spirit offers various types of select filter cigarettes which are color-coded to denote the nicotine and tar contents, which are altered by using different filters and cigarette paper.[8] American Spirit also has a Perique Blend Filter cigarette, which contains 10% Perique tobacco, and an Organic Filter cigarette, which contains organic tobacco.[8]

Natural American Spirit also offers several "Roll Your Own" tobaccos in tins and pouches.

In the UK, American Spirit rolling tobacco comes in Blue (regular) or Yellow (light). Only by name, as in the UK all tobacco products are packaged in olive coloured packs. They both come in 30g only. American Spirit cigarettes are sold in 20s and are either Blue, Yellow or Orange.

Controversy

The claim of additive-free cigarettes

Natural American Spirit products are advertised as "100% Additive-Free Tobacco", though they include the standard generic Surgeon General tobacco warning on the packs in accordance with federal regulation standards, which currently states "no additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette". This was part of an FTC ruling in 2000 and agreement, resulting from allegations that the advertisement of "additive-free" cigarettes made consumers feel that the product might be less addictive or safer than regular cigarettes.[9]

California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced on March 1, 2010, that his office had secured an agreement with the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company to clearly disclose that its organic tobacco is "no safer or healthier" than other tobacco products. Attorneys General from 32 other states and the District of Columbia signed onto the agreement.[10]

See also

References
  1. "SFNTC - Our Company Tobacco Road". 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015.
  2. "R.J. Reynolds buys Santa Fe Natural". Lakeland Ledger. Raleigh. 23 November 2001. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  3. "JT Acquires Natural American Spirit Business outside the United States" (PDF). Jt.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-10. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  4. "BrandNatural American Spirit - Cigarettes Pedia". www.cigarettespedia.com.
  5. "Natural American Spirit". www.zigsam.at.
  6. "American Spirit". www.zigsam.at.
  7. "Brands". www.cigarety.by.
  8. "Cigarettes". Natural American Spirit Germany. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company: Germany GmbH. 2014. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  9. "Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc". Federal Trade Commission. 16 June 2000. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  10. "Brown Secures Agreement with American Spirit Cigarettes Maker over Alleged Misleading Marketing of Organic Tobacco Products". State of California Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2014. California Attorney General's Press Release March 01, 2010
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