22nd Century’s Vice President of Regulatory Science Publishes Important Public Policy Article

Article Urges the FDA to Accelerate Implementation of its Plan to Limit Nicotine Levels in All Cigarettes and to Provide Less Harmful Alternatives for Smokers of Highly Addictive Cigarettes

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII), a leading plant-based, biotechnology company that is focused on tobacco harm reduction, very low nicotine content tobacco, and hemp/cannabis research, announced today that Morning Consult, a global data intelligence company with an editorial division that issues an influential newsletter reaching more than 300,000 audience members on the Hill and within federal agencies, published a powerful op-ed article penned by John Pritchard, 22nd Century’s vice president of regulatory science.

In the article, Pritchard calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to accelerate implementation of its Comprehensive Plan on Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation, in particular to impose the mandate requiring all cigarettes sold in the United States to contain minimally or non-addictive levels of nicotine. The proposed rule was removed abruptly from the agency’s agenda late last year without warning or significant explanation. Yet, smoking remains the number one preventable cause of death in America, killing near half a million people a year or, 1,300 deaths per day. The serious direct and indirect harm caused by cigarette addiction is irrefutable. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the need to promote and protect respiratory health.

“Despite the obvious harm of smoking, the staggering public health costs, and the millions of lives lost, we have never mustered the fortitude to enact policies that would make cigarettes less addictive and end this public health disaster. This is the perfect time to take that step,” wrote John Pritchard, vice president of regulatory science of 22nd Century Group.

Pritchard stressed the importance of a timely decision by the FDA, “Companies like the one where I work have developed technology to decrease the chances that future generations become addicted to cigarettes and to provide alternatives for smokers of highly addictive cigarettes…Yet we continue to wait almost a year for a further authorization to allow us to communicate this breakthrough to adult smokers. The faster this can be achieved, the sooner and greater the public health benefit in the United States.”