World Health Organization Recommends “Mandated Reductions in Nicotine to Minimally Addictive Levels”

CLARENCE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII),
a plant biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm
reduction, announced today that the World Health Organization (WHO)
Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation (TobReg) has recommended “a
policy of limiting the sale of cigarettes to brands with a nicotine
content that is not sufficient to lead to the development and/or
maintenance of addiction.” (WHO
Global Nicotine Reduction Strategy)
The WHO report states: “No specific amount of nicotine has yet been
identified as the absolute threshold for addiction; however, it is
likely to be equal to or possibly less than 0.4 mg/g of dry cigarette
tobacco filler.” 22nd Century is the only company in the world
capable of producing combustible tobacco cigarettes at this very low
level of nicotine – without any artificial extraction or chemical
processes.
Reflecting on independent clinical studies, the WHO report explains that
government-mandated nicotine reduction strategies utilizing Very Low
Nicotine cigarettes could “decrease the acquisition of smoking and
progression to addiction among experimenters, limit the number of
cigarettes smoked by some proportion of addicted smokers and both
increase the number of addicted smokers who stop smoking and reduce the
number of those who relapse.”
22nd Century’s proprietary Very Low Nicotine SPECTRUM®, MAGIC®, and
BRAND A cigarettes have the taste and sensory characteristics of
conventional cigarettes, but contain approximately 95% less nicotine
than conventional cigarettes made by Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO)
and Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE: RAI),
including Marlboro®, Newport®, Camel®, and American Spirit®.
Reduced nicotine “yield” cigarettes first developed and marketed by “Big
Tobacco” companies in the 1970’s as “light,” and “low tar” (terms now
banned by the FDA from labeling and marketing in the United States),
deliver doses of nicotine that are actually comparable to full-flavored
conventional cigarettes and, in fact, extend the prevalence of
addiction. In stark comparison, 22nd Century’s Very Low Nicotine
cigarettes drastically reduce smokers’ exposure to nicotine. A growing
body of scientific evidence – including the ground breaking clinical
trial by Donny
et al. that was funded by
the FDA and published in The New England Journal of Medicine –
demonstrates that 22nd Century’s proprietary Very Low Nicotine
cigarettes do not sustain addiction. Further, the use of
22nd Century’s Very Low Nicotine cigarettes has been shown to decrease
daily cigarette consumption, as well as nicotine and toxicant exposure.
As demonstrated by the WHO report, many public health officials believe
it is a critically important health need to provide consumers with a
product that reduces exposure to nicotine. This point echoes former
U.S. FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler’s recommendation that “the
FDA should quickly move to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to
non-addictive levels… It is the ultimate harm reduction strategy.”
“22nd Century is the only company in the world that can make cigarettes
containing naturally grown tobacco with nicotine at the non-addictive
levels recommended by the WHO and former U.S. FDA Commissioner Dr. David
Kessler,” explained Henry Sicignano, III, President and Chief Executive
Officer of 22nd Century Group. “We welcome the opportunity to
collaborate with public health officials and scientists around the world
to test and implement the important recommendations made by the World
Health Organization Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation.”
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company focused on technology
which allows it to increase or decrease the level of nicotine in tobacco
plants and the level of cannabinoids in cannabis plants through genetic
engineering and plant breeding. The Company’s primary mission is to
reduce the harm caused by smoking. 22nd Century currently owns or
exclusively controls more than 200 issued patents and more than 50
pending patent applications around the world. Visit www.xxiicentury.com
and www.magiccigarettes.com
for more information.
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