22nd Century Group Regulatory Science VP Joins FDLI Tobacco and Nicotine Products Committee

Another key indicator and milestone of the Increasing Importance of Reducing Cigarette Nicotine Content as Cornerstone of Public Health Policy

BUFFALO, N.Y., April 08, 2021 (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 the Company’s Vice President of Regulatory Science, John Pritchard, will represent 22nd Century as a new member of the Food and Drug Law Institute’s (FDLI) Tobacco and Nicotine Products Committee. The Committee brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including public health researchers, leaders of non-governmental organizations, and members of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) to discuss tobacco product regulation and policy.

“We are proud that John has been invited to serve on the highly regarded FDLI Tobacco and Nicotine Product Committee and to represent 22nd Century in this forum,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group. “Our organization is fortunate to have a number of experts on our leadership team, and it is important that we play an active role in moving the tobacco industry forward to reduce the harm caused by smoking. The status quo of cigarette addiction must end, and we are delighted that John will serve on this committee to educate the industry about 22nd Century Group’s Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) application for our VLN reduced nicotine content cigarettes, which we are highly confident is in the final stages of review by the FDA. John will also spend this year supporting the committee’s programs and advocating for the FDA to implement the Agency’s proposed mandate to set a maximum level of nicotine in cigarettes of 0.5 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco, a level already achieved in our VLN cigarettes, and previously deemed by the FDA to ‘minimize addictiveness’.”

The FDA’s proposed tobacco product standard for nicotine level of combustible cigarettes, which was published in March 2018 as an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANRPM), is the cornerstone of the FDA’s Comprehensive Plan for Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation. The FDA’s plan seeks to lower the nicotine content of all cigarettes to a “minimally or non-addictive” level. The creation of a proposed nicotine cap could decrease the chances that future generations become addicted to cigarettes and could make it easier for currently addicted smokers to quit. Public health researchers project that the enactment of a nicotine cap would help more than five million people to quit smoking within the first year of implementation and save more than eight million American lives by the end of the century. A recent survey reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 80% of adults in the United States are in favor of lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes to make them less addictive.