FDA warns companies over
'natural' label on cigarettes
Send a link to a friend
[August 28, 2015]
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has warned the makers of Winston, Natural American Spirit
and Nat Sherman cigarettes that they cannot claim their products are
"natural" or "additive-free" without regulatory approval.
|
The FDA first gained authority to regulate cigarettes in 2009,
partly in reaction to the tobacco industry's misuse of terms such as
"mild" and "light" to suggest those products were less dangerous.
The FDA now requires any company seeking to claim that one tobacco
product is less dangerous than another to prove it with scientific
evidence. The agency said the products would need to obtain a
"modified risk" tobacco product order before they can be described
as "natural" and "additive-free."
"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,"
Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's tobacco products division, said
in a statement.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/28/images/ads/current/beason_ag_sda_030614.png)
On Monday roughly 30 health organizations, including the American
Academy of Family Physicians, the American Heart Association and the
American Thoracic Society wrote to the FDA urging it to take action
against Reynolds American Inc and its subsidiary, Santa Fe Natural
Tobacco Co for the marketing of Natural American Spirit cigarettes.
In their letter the anti-tobacco groups noted that sales of Natural
American Spirit rose 86 percent between 2009 to 2014 while sales of
all cigarettes nationally declined by 17 percent.
"We are pleased that the Food and Drug Administration today has
taken action to protect the American public from deception," said
Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/Symphony_122313.png)
Reynolds American and Sherman's 1400 Broadway NYC Ltd, maker of Nat
Sherman cigarettes, said they had received the FDA's letter but
declined to comment further.
ITG Brands, maker of Winston, said in a statement the company
disagrees with the FDA and believes its products comply with all
state and federal regulations.
"Winston has been marketed with its current packaging for more than
15 years and in compliance with an agreement entered into with the
U.S. Federal Trade Commission," said the company, which is owned by
Imperial Tobacco Group Plc. "The statement that FDA objected to
currently appears only on the carton of Winston and not on the pack
or advertising for the brand."
(Reporting by Toni Clarke in Washington; Additional reporting by
Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey and Lisa
Shumaker)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/28/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png) |