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Natural American Spirit and Newport are the second- and fourth-largest cigarette brands in the United States, and both belong to Reynolds American, the BAT subsidiary that bought Santa Fe Natural Tobacco in 2002 and Lorillard in 2015. They could hardly be more different in construction. Newport is the country’s largest menthol brand, built on a 1957 green pack and now running to about 40 styles in kings and 100s, box and soft. American Spirit is a super-premium brand of 17 king-size boxes, two of them menthol, whose identity rests on an ingredient statement, “Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco & Water,” that the FTC and FDA have both acted on. This page sets the two side by side on the public record.
Last verified September 11, 2026 against the Oregon (July 2026) and New Jersey (June 2025) state tobacco directories, Reynolds American SEC filings, FTC and FDA records, Nielsen data as reported by Tobacco Reporter, and the sources listed at the end. Style counts are directory listings, which certify a style for sale in that state; they do not mean every store carries it.
Side by side
| Fact | Natural American Spirit | Newport |
|---|---|---|
| US manufacturer | Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, a Reynolds American subsidiary; production moved from Oxford, North Carolina to Reynolds’ Tobaccoville plant between 2022 and 2024 | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem area, North Carolina |
| Parent | British American Tobacco, through Reynolds American | Same |
| Launched | Company founded 1982 in Santa Fe, New Mexico; cigarettes sold under the name from 1985 | May 1957, by Lorillard, as its first single-entry menthol brand |
| Ownership path | Independent until January 16, 2002, when Reynolds bought Santa Fe for $354 million; international rights sold to Japan Tobacco in 2016 | Lorillard until June 12, 2015, when Reynolds American completed its $27.4 billion acquisition of Lorillard |
| Price tier | Super-premium; “the leading super-premium cigarette brand” (Reynolds 10-K) | Premium; “the leading menthol cigarette brand in the U.S.” (Reynolds 10-K) |
| US market share | 3.7% (Nielsen, December 2023); 4.4% (Tobacco Insider, January 2025); 1.6% in 2014 | 12.9% (Nielsen, December 2023); 14.1% in June 2020 |
| Rank | No. 4 | No. 2 |
| Styles in the state directories | 17 cigarette styles in Oregon (Reynolds’ site says 15 current) plus 6 roll-your-own | About 40 across Oregon and New Jersey: 14 menthol and 26 labeled non-menthol |
| Lengths | King only | King, 100s |
| Packs | Box only | Box; four menthol soft packs |
| Menthol styles | 2 of 17 | 14, and the brand’s identity |
| Unfiltered style | Yes: Non-Filter (Brown Box) | None |
| Organic tobacco styles | 5 | None |
| Ingredient statement | “Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco & Water”; “additive-free” and “natural” removed from labeling under a 2017 FDA agreement | None |
| Master Settlement Agreement | Santa Fe is a subsequent participating manufacturer | Reynolds is an original participant; Lorillard also signed in 1998 |
| Pack | 20 cigarettes | 20 cigarettes |
The lineups
Natural American Spirit (17 cigarette styles)
Style names are as printed in the Oregon directory; “Mellow Taste,” “Full-Bodied Taste” and similar words are the manufacturer’s official style names, not this page’s descriptions. Every style is a king-size box.
| Style as listed (Oregon) | Menthol | Filter | Organic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Bodied Taste (Blue Box) | No | Filtered | No |
| Mellow Taste (Yellow Box) | No | Filtered | No |
| Smooth Mellow Taste (Orange Box) | No | Filtered | No |
| Balanced Taste (Celadon Box); Balanced Taste (Hunter Box) | No | Filtered | No |
| Menthol Full-Bodied Taste (Dark Green Box) | Yes | Filtered | No |
| Menthol Mellow Taste (Green Box) | Yes | Filtered | No |
| Non-Filter (Brown Box) | No | Unfiltered | No |
| U.S. Grown Full-Bodied Taste (Dark Blue Box) | No | Filtered | No |
| U.S. Grown Organic Full-Bodied Taste (Turquoise Box) | No | Filtered | Yes |
| U.S. Grown Organic Mellow Taste (Gold Box); (Tan Box) | No | Filtered | Yes |
| Made with Organic Tobacco Sky Smooth Taste | No | Filtered | Yes |
| U.S. Grown Rich Robust Taste, Perique Blend (Black Box); Rich Taste, Perique Blend (Gray Box) | No | Filtered | No |
| Full-Bodied Red Box; Smooth Gold Box (added May 2023) | No | Filtered | No |
Newport (about 40 styles)
| Family | Styles | Menthol | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menthol (box and soft, kings and 100s) | 4 | Yes | The original green pack, 1957 |
| Menthol Gold Classic (box and soft, kings and 100s) | 4 | Yes | The former Newport Lights (1977) |
| Menthol Blue Classic, Smooth Select Menthol Classic, Menthol Platinum Blue (kings and 100s) | 6 | Yes | |
| Non-Menthol, Non-Menthol Gold (kings and 100s) | 4 | No | Red pack launched November 2010; Gold 2013 |
| Non-Menthol Select, Blend, Blend Silver (kings and 100s) | 6 | No | 2021 to 2024 |
| Non-Menthol Green (kings and 100s) | 2 | Labeled non-menthol | Named by the California Attorney General in 2023 (see Regulation) |
| EXP Non-Menthol Max, Mix, Lux, Flex (kings and 100s) | 8 | Labeled non-menthol | 2021 to 2022 |
| Reserve Non-Menthol, Reserve Non-Menthol Gold (kings and 100s) | 4 | No | September 2024 |
| Signature (kings and 100s) | 2 | Listed as non-menthol in California | September 2024 |
Full Newport pack listings: Newport.
What the regulators said about American Spirit
American Spirit’s ingredient claim has been acted on twice. In April 2000 the FTC accepted a consent agreement, made final that June, over advertising that the agency said implied “without a reasonable basis” that the cigarettes “are safer to smoke than other cigarettes because they contain no additives”; the order requires the disclosure “No additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette.” On August 27, 2015 the FDA sent Santa Fe a warning letter stating that “Natural” and “Additive Free” on the packs were modified-risk claims requiring FDA authorization under section 911 of the Tobacco Control Act. Under a January 19, 2017 agreement Santa Fe removed “additive-free” and “natural” from labeling, advertising and promotion, keeping “Natural American Spirit” as the brand name and the statement “Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco & Water”; in May 2017 FTC staff accepted “Natural American Spirit cigarettes are not safer than other cigarettes” as the current disclosure wording. Newport has no ingredient claim and no equivalent history.
History
Natural American Spirit. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company was founded in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1982 and began selling pre-rolled cigarettes under the Natural American Spirit name in 1985, made under contract. Manufacturing moved to Oxford, North Carolina from 1996. R.J. Reynolds bought the company on January 16, 2002 for $354 million and kept it as a separate subsidiary; in 2016 Reynolds sold the brand’s international business to Japan Tobacco for about $5 billion while keeping the US rights. The Santa Fe offices closed in June 2018 and the Oxford plant was folded into Tobaccoville from 2022. Its US share went from 1.6% in 2014 to 3.7% in Nielsen’s December 2023 data, and BAT credited it, with Newport soft packs, for its US premium share gains in 2024.
Newport. Lorillard introduced Newport in May 1957 as a filtered menthol, a year after Reynolds launched Salem, and named it for Newport, Rhode Island. Volume peaked at 8.7 billion cigarettes in 1965, fell to 4.1 billion in 1972, then grew for fifty years; Newport Lights arrived in 1977, and by the end of 1992 the brand was the third-largest in the US and the top menthol, having passed Kool and Salem. Lorillard launched Newport Non-Menthol in November 2010. Reynolds American agreed to buy Lorillard for $27.4 billion in July 2014, mainly to get Newport, and closed on June 12, 2015, selling Winston, Kool, Salem and Maverick to ITG Brands to satisfy the FTC. Newport was about half of Reynolds’ cigarette sales by 2016. Since California’s menthol ban, Reynolds has added the EXP, Reserve and Signature non-menthol families, and BAT reported in 2024 that Newport soft packs were gaining share even as the brand’s total volume fell 11.1%.
Menthol and the law
Menthol law cuts very differently across these two brands. Newport’s 14 menthol styles, most of what the brand sells, cannot be sold at ordinary retail in Massachusetts (since June 1, 2020) or California (since December 21, 2022) or in cities and counties with local menthol ordinances; American Spirit loses only its two menthol styles in those places. There is no federal menthol ban: the FDA’s proposal, published May 4, 2022, was withdrawn January 21, 2025, and the lawsuit seeking to compel it was dismissed October 27, 2025. Newport’s California non-menthol styles drew enforcement: on April 25, 2023 the California Attorney General determined that Newport Non-Menthol Green was presumptively flavored, citing the cooling agent WS-3, and named EXP Mix and Max as well; Reynolds sued, then dropped the suit in December 2024 after the state amended its law (effective January 1, 2025) to count a “cooling sensation” as a characterizing flavor. Both companies report to Reynolds American, an original signatory of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement; Santa Fe joined as a subsequent participating manufacturer. Texas, where Saucey delivers tobacco, has no menthol restriction.
FAQs
Are American Spirit and Newport made by the same company? Both belong to Reynolds American (BAT). Newport is made by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company; American Spirit by Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, a Reynolds subsidiary since 2002.
Is American Spirit additive-free? The packs state “Tobacco Ingredients: Tobacco & Water.” The words “additive-free” and “natural” were removed from labeling under the 2017 FDA agreement, and a 2000 FTC order requires the company to say that no additives does not mean a safer cigarette.
Is Newport only menthol? Not since 2010. It has 26 labeled non-menthol styles against 14 menthol, though menthol remains most of what the brand sells.
Which sells more? Newport, about 13% of the US market to American Spirit’s about 4%, though American Spirit’s share has grown faster over the last decade.
Which is more expensive? American Spirit is positioned as super-premium, a tier above Newport’s premium. Tax, most of the price of any pack, is the same on both. See How Much Does a Pack of Cigarettes Cost?
Does either come unfiltered? American Spirit does (Non-Filter, brown box). Newport does not. More at Unfiltered Cigarettes.
Sources
- Oregon Department of Justice, Tobacco Brand Directory, July 21, 2026; New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Tobacco Directory, June 30, 2025; California Attorney General directory addition notices, 2021 to 2024
- Reynolds American, Building Brands; Reynolds American Form 10-K filings for 2004, 2014 and 2016 (SEC EDGAR); Reynolds American, Reynolds American completes acquisition of Lorillard, June 12, 2015; Santa Fe New Mexican, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. closing Santa Fe offices, March 19, 2018; Convenience Store News, Reynolds sells international rights to Natural American Spirit
- Federal Trade Commission, FTC accepts settlements of charges that “alternative” cigarette ads are deceptive, April 27, 2000; FTC staff advisory opinion to Santa Fe, May 9, 2017; FDA warning letter to Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, August 27, 2015 (copy); Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, statement on the FDA agreement, March 2, 2017
- Lorillard, Newport brand history (Stanford SRITA); BAT, Annual Report 2024, Combustibles; Tobacco Reporter, Nicotine market shares stay flat through December, January 11, 2024; Tobacco Insider, USA: Cigarette Brands, January 24, 2025
- California Attorney General, Notice of Determination 23-04-A5 re Newport, April 25, 2023; Public Health Law Center, Proposed Menthol Rules Withdrawn, February 7, 2025, and litigation update, November 6, 2025; Mass.gov, 2019 Tobacco Control Law
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The fine print
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