The Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company is a tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 manufacturer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

, best known for its production of the Natural American Spirit

Natural American Spirit

Natural American Spirit is a brand of cigarette and tobacco products manufactured in the United States by the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, a wholly owned independent subsidiary of Reynolds American, in turn 42% owned by British American Tobacco...

 cigarette brand.
The company was purchased by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 2001 and is currently a division of Reynolds American

Reynolds American

Reynolds American, Inc. is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States. Its holdings include R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, American Snuff Company , Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company and Niconovum AB...

. A controversy has emerged surrounding this brand for its claims to be natural, purportedly often misconstrued as meaning that the product is healthier for a smoker.

In Civil Action No. 99-2496 (GK) {March 16, 2007}, Reynolds American was criticized by the United States Department of Justice for making deceptive statements about "natural" tobacco products:

"All these activities, despite being carried out beyond our shores, were part of the Defendants’ scheme to defraud the American public about the adverse health effects of smoking and environmental tobacco smoke. The activities which took place abroad were all devoted to advancing and furthering the efforts of the Defendants to mislead and deceive American smokers and potential smokers about the lower health risks of 'low tar,' 'lite,' 'ultra lite,' 'mild' and 'natural' cigarettes, as well as the dangers of smoking, nicotine addiction, and environmental tobacco smoke."