BUFFALO, N.Y., Nov. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XXII), a leading biotechnology company focused on utilizing advanced plant technologies to improve health and wellness with reduced nicotine tobacco, hemp/cannabis and hops, today announced that it has again expanded its VLN^® retail presence with more than 500 additional locations across 11 states.

With these latest additions, 22nd Century Group’s FDA-authorized VLN^® reduced nicotine content cigarettes can now be found at more than 5,100 store locations spanning 23 states, including the addition of Washington, Oregon, Kentucky, and Louisiana.

“The addition of over 500 new VLN^® sales locations has propelled us beyond the noteworthy milestone of 5,100 stores. Our VLN^® sales presence now extends to 23 states, making VLN^® available in many of the top markets where smokers reside,” stated John Miller, interim Chief Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group, Inc.

“VLN^® is purposefully crafted to offer adult smokers a clinically documented tool to gradually reduce their smoking frequency and mitigate the associated health risks over time. We are pleased that an increasing number of adult smokers now have access to this important product if they are seeking new ways to reduce their smoking habit,” said Miller.

VLN^® is the first and only FDA authorized combustible cigarette labelled as a tobacco harm reduction product. As demonstrated by leading independent scientists and reviewed by the FDA, reducing the nicotine level in cigarettes has the potential to substantially reduce the enormous burden of smoking-related death and disease. It is estimated that a nicotine product standard to a level that is 95% less than the level of nicotine contained in U.S. conventional cigarettes could save millions of lives and tens of millions of life-years over the next several decades.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XXII) is a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco and improving health and wellness through plant science. With dozens of patents allowing it to control nicotine biosynthesis in the tobacco plant, the Company has developed proprietary reduced nicotine content (RNC) tobacco plants and cigarettes, which have become the cornerstone of the FDA’s Comprehensive Plan to address the widespread death and disease caused by smoking. The Company received the first and only FDA Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) authorization for a combustible cigarette in December 2021. In tobacco, hemp/cannabis and hop plants, 22nd Century uses modern plant breeding technologies, including genetic engineering, gene-editing, and molecular breeding to deliver solutions for the life science and consumer products industries by creating new, proprietary plants with optimized alkaloid and flavonoid profiles as well as improved yields and valuable agronomic traits.

Learn more at xxiicentury.com, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, and on YouTube.

Learn more about VLN^® at tryvln.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements typically contain terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “consider,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “explore,” “foresee,” “goal,” “guidance,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “preliminary,” “probable,” “project,” “promising,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions. Actual results might differ materially from those explicit or implicit in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are set forth in “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 9, 2023. All information provided in this release is as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Investor Relations & Media Contact
Matt Kreps
Investor Relations
22nd Century Group
mkreps@xxiicentury.com
214-597-8200