Natural American Spirit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Natural American Spirit is a brand of cigarette and tobacco products manufactured in the United States by the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company. The company was founded in 1982, but in 2002 was acquired by Reynolds American and is now an independent subsidiary.
Their products are marketed as being "100% Additive-Free Tobacco", though the company warns that they are as hazardous as other cigarettes and openly dissuades others from taking up smoking. This was part of an FTC ruling & agreement stemming from allegations that the advertisement of Additive Free Cigarettes made consumers feel that the product might be less addictive than regular cigarettes [ref].
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[edit] Varieties
In the United States, there are currently ten varieties of Natural American Spirit cigarettes on the market. They can be distinguished by the variety of colors used in packaging:
| Type | Package Color |
| Non-Filter | Tan |
| Regular Filter | Blue |
| Medium Filter | Pale Green (Celadon) |
| Light Filter | Yellow |
| Ultra Light Filter | Yellow and White |
| Menthol Filter | Green |
| Menthol Light Filter | Green and White |
| Organic Regular Filter | Maroon |
| Organic Light Filter | Gold |
| Perique | Black |
The company also produces four varieties of roll-your-own tobacco products:
| Type | Package Color |
| Original Blend | Blue |
| U.S. Grown | Royal Blue |
| Organic Blend | Maroon |
| Perique | Black |
Certain Natural American Spirit products are also sold in several European countries, Australia and Japan.
[edit] Marketing
Natural American Spirit advertises that their tobacco products contain only whole-leaf tobacco without any additives. The company's website informs smokers that although most cigarette manufacturers use reconstituted sheet tobacco as a cost-cutting measure, their cigarettes contain no sheet tobacco, nor processed stems. Also, the company claims that they do not test any of their products on animals, and they purportedly donate a portion of their revenues to Native American charities. This, however, makes Natural American Spirit one of the more expensive, premium brands. The higher price is offset somewhat by each cigarette containing up to 25% more tobacco than conventional ones. Additionally, the cigarettes tend to burn slower in comparison to most manufactured cigarettes which contain additives that make the tobacco burn faster.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- According to study by Oregon Health & Science University's James Pankow, up to 36% of total nicotine content in an American Spirit cigarette may be "free-base nicotine" [1]. This form of nicotine gasifies more easily, which is believed to allow it to be absorbed into the bloodstream via the lungs more quickly. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco company denies the allegations that they add free-base nicotine to their cigarettes during processing.
- The logo uses the typeface Neuland Inline.
