July 29, 2011 - New cigarette advertisements touting “additive-free” organic tobacco use the term “eco-friendly,” angering anti-smoking activists. The environmentally-focused advertisements for Natural American Spirit cigarettes began appearing in March in magazines such as Esquire, Wired, Elle, and Marie Claire. “It’s an egregious ad. It’s trying to greenwash a deadly and addictive product,” says Vince Willmore of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, adding research shows cigarettes also are the number one source of litter. He continued, “When you hear a product is eco-friendly, you think it’s better for you.” The tobacco company, owned by Reynolds American Inc., says it is not saying its cigarettes are safer, but that its manufacturing is greener. It says its facilities are wind-powered, its farmers use fewer chemicals, and 70 percent of its sales staff drives hybrid vehicles. “This is the perfect example of why green marketing is broken,” says Joel Makower, executive director of GreenBiz.com. “Products that harm people should not be marketed as green.”

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