American Spirit Sued In Class-Action Lawsuit Over Deceptive Marketing Of Their 'Natural' Cigarettes
The ingredients inside a cigarette read like a long list of things you don’t want to put in your body. There are ingredients found in nail polish remover, hair dye, rat poison, and rubber cement mix. All told, there are about 600 ingredients inside a cigarette, so it’s hard to believe that anyone would believe a cigarette-maker’s claim that their cigarettes are “all natural.” But, according to a class-action lawsuit filed against American Spirit cigarette maker Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company and its parent, Reynolds American Inc, that’s exactly the case.
The class-action suit was filed by Joules Sproule in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. It falls back on warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that state using words like “natural” and “additive-free” in the promotion of cigarettes is against federal law. The plaintiff claims that the cigarette maker used this marketing strategy to deliberately mislead smokers into thinking that their cigarette products are a healthier option when compared to other tobacco products.
Indeed, the Santa Fe website supports Sproule’s claims, saying, “ Natural American Spirit products are made with 100 percent additive-free tobacco and include 13 cigarette styles and four roll-your-own styles,” the site says. These words have allegedly been a part of Santa Fe’s marketing strategy since the company was founded more than 30 years ago.
Sproule’s lawsuit, however, notes that while overall sales of cigarettes in the U.S. dropped 17 percent between 2009 and 2014, sales of American Spirit cigarettes grew more than 86 percent. The suit is seeking damages to all those who use American Spirit cigarettes on the basis that they were deceived into thinking the cigarettes were a healthier alternative.
Using words like “additive-free,” “natural,” and “organic” are deceptive in today’s market, especially for those who are trying to be healthier and more environmentally conscious, the lawsuit argues. What’s more, the lawsuit states that Santa Fe takes advantage exploits the idea of healthiness by selling its cigarettes in health food stores.
Santa Fe made no comment on the matter other than to say it is attempting to meet with the FDA to discuss its marketing strategy.
Though it might seem shocking that people believe a cigarette maker's claims of natural or organic cigarettes, research has found that people are still in the dark when it comes to what’s inside their cigarettes, thanks in part to deceptive marketing. The FDA has also been aware of these marketing strategies for some time now and has warned that cigarette labels can be misleading.
“The FDA’s job is to ensure tobacco products are not marketed in a way that leads consumers to believe cigarettes with descriptors like 'additive-free' and 'natural' pose fewer health risks than other cigarettes, unless the claims have been scientifically supported,” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in August after the FDA issued warning letters to three companies, including Santa Fe. “This action is a milestone and a reminder how we use the tools of science-based regulation to protect the U.S. public from the harmful effects of tobacco use.”