Widespread belief that organic and additive-free tobacco products are less harmful than regular tobacco products: results from the 2017 US Health Information National Trends Survey.

Significance: US smokers of Natural American Spirit, a brand marketed as "organic" and "additive-free," are more likely than other cigarette smokers to believe that their brand might be less harmful than other brands. This article (1) describes the prevalence of belief that "organic" and "additive-free" tobacco is less harmful than regular tobacco products in the US population and (2) describes the sociodemographic characteristics of adults who believe tobacco products with these descriptors are less harmful. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a nationally representative survey of US adults. Logistic regression models were used to examine correlates of the belief that "organic" or "additive-free" tobacco products are less harmful than regular tobacco products. Results: Overall, 26.7% of US adults and 45.3% of adult smokers believe that "organic" tobacco products are less harmful than regular tobacco products. Similarly, 35.2% of US adults and 47.1% of smokers believe that "additive-free" tobacco products are less harmful. When examining gender, age, education, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and smoking status, only age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] similar to 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.97, 0.99 for both outcomes) and smoking status (current vs. never smokers, aOR similar to 1.78, 95% CI 1.03, 3.07 for both outcomes) were correlates of believing that "organic" or "additive-free" tobacco is less harmful than regular tobacco products. Conclusions: Belief that "organic" and "additive-free" tobacco products are less harmful than other products is widespread. Younger adults and current smokers are most likely to be misinformed by "organic" or "additive-free" tobacco product descriptors.