![]() ![]() cigarette sales during the same time have fallen. Consumers buying goods marketed with such terms expect to get a healthier product,” said Myers, adding that the “deceptive” marketing for Natural American Spirit has helped the brand increase sales since 2009 while overall U.S. “There is no question that terms such as ‘additive-free’ and ‘natural’ imply a safer cigarette, as confirmed by consumer research and the industry’s own documents. Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which was among 28 groups that urged the FDA to take action against the Santa Fe Tobacco Company for its reduced risk claims, called the warning letters “a critically important action to protect the American public from tobacco industry deception.” 27 letters marked the first time that the agency has used its authority under the Tobacco Control Act of 2009 to pursue regulatory action against companies that push “additive-free” or “natural” claims on product labeling. The FDA also shipped warning letters to two other tobacco manufacturers, ITG Brands and Sherman’s 1400 Broadway N.Y.C., for similar violations of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. “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 proven,” said Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. The FDA says it has yet to issue any such orders. Tobacco companies must obtain a so-called modified risk tobacco product order from the FDA to market their cigarettes as safer than other brands. ![]() This summer, the FDA warned the company that advertising packs of Natural American Spirit as “natural” and “additive-free” violates federal law because the claims imply that the cigarettes are a healthier option to other brands. The Reynolds American-owned Santa Fe Tobacco Company is facing a class-action lawsuit filed in September that alleges the company is deceptively marketing the cigarettes as natural, additive free, organic, and unadulterated tobacco products when there is no adequate scientific evidence to support such claims. But the marketing has also come under fire on several fronts for potentially misleading consumers on the inherent health risks associated with smoking cigarettes, as well as the product’s effect on the environment as a whole. The green, feel-good marketing of Natural American Spirit cigarettes may have led to the brand becoming the cigarette of choice for the modern day hipster. ![]()
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