TAAT Launches Beyond Nicotine Initiative in Light of Impending Federal Anti-Nicotine Regulations to Drive Awareness of TAAT Nicotine-Free Alternatives to Tobacco Cigarettes

As reports of the Biden administration’s intent to cap nicotine levels in tobacco cigarettes have circulated throughout the month of April 2021, TAAT has launched an initiative titled “Beyond Nicotine” in an effort to encourage awareness of TAAT among smokers aged 21+ in anticipation of these potential regulatory actions. Following a successful retail launch of TAAT in Ohio starting in Q4 2020, the Company plans to incorporate “Beyond Nicotine” messaging into its current brand assets and media properties as well as upcoming launches in new U.S. markets throughout 2021 following a CAD $1.25 million order from a Texas wholesaler last week

LAS VEGAS and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TAAT LIFESTYLE & WELLNESS LTD. (CSE: TAAT) (OTCQX: TOBAF) (FRANKFURT: 2TP2) (the “Company” or “TAAT”) has launched its “Beyond Nicotine” initiative with an objective of emphasizing the absence of nicotine in its flagship product TAAT, which is formulated to taste and smell similarly to tobacco despite containing no actual tobacco. On Monday, April 19, 2021, the Wall Street Journal published a report that the Biden administration in the United States is considering enacting a requirement for tobacco companies to reduce nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold nationwide to a level at which they would no longer be addictive¹. According to a CNBC report later that day, which covered the apparent negative impact of this announcement on the stock prices of several major tobacco firms (e.g., Altria, British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International), the goal of reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes would be to encourage smokers to give up tobacco or choose alternatives that are considered safer². In Q4 2020, the Company began commercializing TAAT in Ohio, followed by the launch of its e-commerce portal enabling the majority of smokers aged 21+ in the United States to purchase TAAT Original, Smooth, and Menthol online for home delivery.

Based on these impending regulations to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes sold in the United States, the Company has elected to launch Beyond Nicotine as an approach to building awareness of TAAT as a nicotine-free alternative to tobacco cigarettes for smokers aged 21+. In a press release dated April 14, 2021, the Company announced several key findings from a consumer research study which reflected positive reception of TAAT, both in concept and as an actual product, which included nearly three quarters of subjects who sampled the product classifying the overall quality as “very good” or “somewhat good”. These sentiments largely reflect in-market performance of TAAT to date through in-store and online sales.