On August 27, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. Inc. and Reynolds American Inc., the company that owns Santa Fe Natural Tobacco and produces American Spirit cigarettes.

The suit alleges that American Spirit packaging contains words such as “additive free” and “natural” that misled smokers into thinking the cigarettes are healthier and safer than other tobacco products.

In the United States, American Spirits have been sold first under the name “Original American Spirit.”  Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc. and parent company Reynolds American manufactured American Spirit cigarettes.  Over the years, American Spirits have been promoted as “100% additive free,” and “natural.” Terms, according to the lawsuit, “have a potent meaning for the health-and environmentally-conscious consumer.”

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration letter issued to Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company point out that the descriptors “additive free,” and “natural” imply “that the products or their smoke do not contain or are free of a substance and/or that the products present a lower risk of tobacco-related disease or are less harmful than one or more other commercially marketed tobacco products.”  Tobacco industry documents and research show that terms such as “additive-free” and “natural” imply a safer cigarette, but there are no scientific studies to support that American Spirit cigarettes pose fewer health risks than other cigarettes.

On April 11, 2016, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred lawsuits against Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. in which individuals allege that cigarette manufacturers misled consumers through false advertising on cigarette cartons.  The cases have been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico (In Re: Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL No. 2695.)

The cases transferred to the MultiDistrict Litigation (“MDL”) in Albuquerque, New Mexico are:

• Russell Brattain v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc., et al. (No. 4:15-04705) from the Northern District of California;
• Justin Sproule v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc., et al. (No. 0:15-62064) from the Southern District of Florida;
• Anthony Dunn v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc. (No. 1:15-01142), From the District of New Mexico;
• Ceyhan Haksal, et al. v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc., et al. (No. 1:15-01163) from the District of New Mexico;
• Theodore Rothman v. Santa Fe Tobacco Company Inc., et al. (No. 7:15-08622) from the Southern District of New York;
• Victoria Cuebas v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. et al. ( No. 7:16-cv-00270) from the Southern District of New York;
• Steve Okstad et al. v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. (No. 3:16-cv-00084), from the Middle District of Florida;
• Desire Gudmundson v. Reynolds American, Inc. et al (No. 3 16−00020), from the District of Virginia Island;
• Timothy Ruggiero v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. et al. (No. 1:16-cv-00493), from the District of Colombia;
• Ashley Waldo v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. et al. (No. 6 16−00427), from the Middle District of Florida;
• Shannon White v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. (No. 1:16-cv-00209), from the District of New Mexico;
• M. LeCompte v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. et al. (No. 1:16-cv-00221), from the District of New Mexico,
• Danae Grandison et al v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. et al. (No. 1 16−01464), from the Eastern District of New York;
• Scott Johnston v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. et al. (No. 2: 16−14155), from the Southern District of Florida;
• Jason Cole, et al v. Santa Fe Tobacco, et al. (No. 1:16-cv-00687), from the Middle District of North Carolina.

The two most recent cases transferred to the MDL, are Scott Johnston v. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. et al. and Jason Cole, et al v. Santa Fe Tobacco, et al.  Scott Johnston is represented by James W. Gustafson, Jr. of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley PA. and  Matthew Schultz.

The Johnston complaint alleges:

Defendants’ marketing and/or labeling methods have described American Spirits as “Natural,” “Additive Free,” “100% Additive Free,” “Organic,” and have described American Spirits as an “unadulterated tobacco product.”

As observed publicly by health authorities, including the FDA, and as acknowledged by Defendants internally, these and similar terms— on their own and in conjunction with the locations, context, and manner in which American Spirits have been marketed— are intended to imply and do in fact imply to consumers that American Spirits are purer, healthier, more wholesome, and safer than other traditional commercial cigarettes, i.e., that they present a reduced risk of tobacco related disease than other tobacco products.

The Johnston complaint contends:

American Spirits also have been marketed on the premise that consumers would smoke fewer of them, so that even if American Spirits were not “safer” than other brands on a cigarette-by-cigarette basis, they would nevertheless pose fewer health risks because consumers could expect to smoke fewer if they began smoking or switched to American Spirits.

Defendants accordingly charge a higher price for American Spirits and refer to American Spirits as a “super premium” brand based on its higher price as compared to other leading cigarette brands.  However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest American Spirits present any reduced risk of harm; that they are in any way a safer alternative to any other commercial cigarettes; or that American Spirits are less addictive or are smoked less compulsively than any other leading brand of cigarettes.”

The Johnston complaint claims:

Because American Spirits do not present a lower risk of cigarette related disease or a lower risk of addiction or compulsive use, Defendants’ marketing and labeling methods and claims are fundamentally deceptive and do not the additional premium Defendants charge for them.

Plaintiff and other reasonable consumers have been deceived and misled by the explicit and implicit marketing and labeling methods and claims employed by Defendants with respect to American Spirits.