New Study Shows Cigarettes Containing 22nd Century’s Proprietary Tobacco Reduce Smoking and Toxicant Exposure
June 22 2016 - 9:55AM
Business Wire
Independent study using proprietary Very Low
Nicotine cigarettes was funded by the FDA and the National
Institute of Health
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII), a plant
biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction,
announced today that the Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and
Prevention (CEBP) journal has published a new independent study
which found that using 22nd Century’s proprietary Very Low Nicotine
tobacco cigarettes “may reduce harm exposure.” Further, “negative
smoking behaviors do not increase, and exposure to nicotine and
many toxic cigarette constituents likely decrease.”
A group of eight researchers from the Center for
Interdisciplinary Research on Nicotine Addiction at the University
of Pennsylvania and the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of
Minnesota conducted the randomized clinical trial which involved
158 non-treatment-seeking smokers. The researchers concluded that
the study’s data provide “further support of reduced smoking and
exposure with very low nicotine content cigarettes.”
The study demonstrated that a reduction of nicotine to only
moderate levels (0.6 – 0.3 mg nicotine yield) does not appear to
reduce smoking and, to the contrary, actually increases cigarette
consumption significantly. In contrast, the “use of very
low nicotine cigarettes [0.05mg nicotine yield] decreased daily
consumption, as well as nicotine and toxicant exposure…” The
study references the similar results achieved in the ground
breaking clinical trial lead by Donny et al. that was published in
the October 2015 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
“A moderate reduction in nicotine – something that many big
tobacco companies can achieve – appears to have no beneficial
effects on smokers’ health, and may in fact lead to
increased smoking,” explained Henry Sicignano, III,
President and Chief Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group.
“Conversely, 22nd Century is the only company in the world capable
of producing combustible cigarettes containing naturally grown
tobacco with 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarettes. Time
and again, independent clinical studies clearly show that 22nd
Century’s Very Low Nicotine cigarettes have important benefits to
smokers who wish to lessen their exposure to nicotine.”
Study scientists in the CEBP journal reported that reduced
nicotine content cigarettes “have limited design and constituent
information available…” However, with the remarkable increase in
research on 22nd Century’s proprietary Very Low Nicotine tobacco,
that point was recently resolved in the April 2016 edition of
Tobacco Regulatory Science, which published a detailed
characterization of 22nd Century’s proprietary variable nicotine
level SPECTRUM® research cigarettes and concluded that SPECTRUM
cigarettes are an “important tool in clinical studies for
investigating… the impact of reduced nicotine cigarettes on
nicotine addiction…” See also the Company’s June 16, 2016 press
release summarizing the Tobacco Regulatory Science article.
22nd Century’s Vice President for Plant Biotechnology, Dr. Paul
Rushton, explained, “Based on an ever-increasing number of
scientific publications, a very clear picture has emerged
illustrating the significant benefits of our proprietary Very Low
Nicotine tobacco. It seems clear that at very low levels of
nicotine, people smoke less and are exposed to smaller amounts of
toxic constituents. For these reasons, public health officials are
beginning to consider public policy changes that could bring 22nd
Century’s products to consumers around the world who seek Very Low
Nicotine product choices.”
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 for more information.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press
release contains forward-looking information, including all
statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the
intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc.,
its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this
press release, including but not limited to our future revenue
expectations. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,”
“estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend” and similar
expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results,
levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should
be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements
that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable
law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not
intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform
these statements to reflect actual results, later events or
circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events. You should carefully review and consider the various
disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, filed on February 18, 2016,
including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other
reports filed with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission which
attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that
may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation
and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties
materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our
actual results may vary materially from those expected or
projected.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160622005395/en/
Investor Relations:IRTH CommunicationsAndrew Haag,
866-976-4784xxii@irthcommunications.comorRedington, Inc.Tom
Redington, 203-222-7399
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