22nd Century''s Proprietary SPECTRUM® Cigarettes Identified as Crucial Tool in Human Addiction Studies

Source from:  Business Wire 06/17/2016

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII), a plant biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction, announced today that scientists with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a detailed characterization of the Company's SPECTRUM® Variable Nicotine Research Cigarettes, calling 22nd Century's proprietary cigarettes an "important tool in clinical studies for investigating… the impact of reduced nicotine cigarettes on nicotine addiction…" Published in Tobacco Regulatory Science, the independent study was conducted by a prestigious team of 18 senior CDC scientists. Click here for a link to the complete article.

Based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia, the independent scientific researchers critically showed that there is a remarkable overall similarity in the chemistry and physical properties of SPECTRUM® cigarettes as compared to commercial cigarettes – with the noted exception of nicotine content which "ranges from very low to within the range reported for commercial products (0.28 – 25.0 mg/g)."

22nd Century's Vice President for Plant Biotechnology, Dr. Paul Rushton, reported: "The CDC researchers also showed that 22nd Century's Very Low Nicotine SPECTRUM® cigarettes have reduced levels of the cancer causing compounds NNN and NNK. The NNN levels of SPECTRUM® cigarettes are within the lower one-third of the concentration range reported for commercial cigarette products. The NNK levels in SPECTRUM® cigarettes were lower than the lowest published levels of NNK for commercial cigarette products."

22nd Century is the only company in the world capable of producing combustible cigarettes containing naturally grown tobacco with non-addictive levels of nicotine. The independent researchers indicated that SPECTRUM® variable nicotine cigarettes will help regulatory agencies make vital decisions on the impact of reduced nicotine levels for product addictiveness and smoking cessation success. The study scientists also pointed out that more research using the Company's proprietary SPECTRUM® cigarettes is expected due to multiple funding opportunities by the National Institutes of Health (https://prevention.nih.gov/tobacco-regulatory-science-program) and the FDA (http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/PublicHealthScienceResearch/default.htm). Furthermore, as announced in May 2016, 22nd Century has launched a new initiative to make the Company's proprietary variable nicotine research cigarettes available to accredited scientists and governments around the globe. These new research cigarettes will be available in any configuration and in any style requested by researchers.

"The CDC researchers' independent analysis of our SPECTRUM® research cigarettes – and the multiple funding opportunities stemming from the NIH and the FDA for further studies – confirms that 22nd Century's proprietary Very Low Nicotine cigarettes are poised to make a major difference in the smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction arenas," explained Henry Sicignano, III, President and Chief Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group. "The rapidly growing body of research surrounding our SPECTRUM® research cigarettes is prompting public health officials around the world to consider policies that allow consumers a choice between 22nd Century's Very Low Nicotine cigarettes and conventional brands. Our product represents an important and fundamental change in the industry." Enditem