| Natural American Spirit | |
| Type: | Cigarette |
| Currentowner: | Reynolds American |
| Producedby: | Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company |
| Origin: | United States |
| Markets: | See Markets |
| Footnotes: | Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1 |
Natural American Spirit, often referred to simply 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.
The company was founded in 1982 by Bill Drake, author of The Cultivator's Handbook of Natural Tobacco; Robert Marion, an acupuncture student at the Kototama Institute in Santa Fe; and Chris Webster, a Santa Fe entrepreneur and Realtor. Startup investments came from Edward Wikes, a Santa Fe plumber/contractor who took out a loan to support the venture; Robert Wolf, an oil rig roughneck; and Philip Naumburg, an heir to the Elkan Naumburg fortune.[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 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]
Natural American Spirit cigarettes have been sold in the United States, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Brazil, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Tunisia, Japan, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Finland and Denmark.[4] [5] [6] [7]
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.
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).
American Spirit cigarettes are sold in packs of 20. They come as follows:[9] [10]
Natural American Spirit products in the year 2000 were advertised as "100% Additive-Free Tobacco".
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.[11]