XXII 22nd Century Group Inc

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII) announced today the departure of Joseph Pandolfino as CEO and Chairman of the Board. Mr. Pandolfino will remain a member of the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Pandolfino’s entrepreneurial spirit and vision have enabled the Company to create and assemble an important and impressive portfolio of technology, and there are continuing discussions to have him remain with the Company in the role of Chief Technology Officer.

James Cornell, the newly elected Chairman of the Board, stated “Under Joe Pandolfino’s leadership, 22nd Century has amassed an incredible stable of propriety plant technologies which offer exceptional opportunities for commercialization to build long term shareholder value. On behalf of the Board and the Company’s shareholders, I want to thank Joe for his significant contributions to the Company’s success.”

With the Company’s inclusion in the Master Settlement Agreement, the soon to start sales of product in the U.S. and Europe, and a joint venture in Asia, the largest tobacco market in the world, the Board of Directors has decided to seek executive leadership with broad experience to manage this next phase of growth of the Company.

Accordingly, the Board of Directors named Henry Sicignano, III, the current President of the Company, to be the new Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Mr Sicignano has been instrumental in many of the Company’s successes and now that 22nd Century is on the cusp of product sales in the U.S., Europe and Asia, it is important for the Company to have an executive of Mr. Sicignano’s experience in this additional role as Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Cornell stated, “Henry Sicignano is ideally suited to lead the Company’s tobacco related business. His strong tobacco background growing the National America Spirit cigarette brand, coupled with his sound strategic and implementation skills, are excellent.”

The Company’s Board of Directors has also established an Executive Committee of the Board that will provide leadership guidance and direction for senior management while a search for a new CEO is underway. The Executive Committee consists of Mr. Cornell, Richard Sanders and Joseph Dunn, PhD. Notably, Mr. Sanders is a career tobacco executive who served from 2002-2008 as President of Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, a division of Reynolds American Inc. During his tenure, Santa Fe tripled the market share of its leading brand, American Spirit, and expanded into Western Europe and Asia. The Company believes this experience will be important given the Company’s recent inclusion in the Master Settlement Agreement, and near term anticipated sales in the US, Europe and Asia.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary technology through genetic engineering and plant breeding allows (i) the level of nicotine (and other nicotinic alkaloids) in the tobacco plant to be decreased or increased and (ii) the levels of cannabinoids to be decreased or increased, in addition to the cannabinoid profile being tailored. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 129 issued patents in 78 countries plus an additional 51 pending patent applications, and 22nd Century has co-exclusive rights to another 16 patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco products and potential less harmful cigarettes. Botanical Genetics is focused on novel, cannabis plant varieties and cannabis-based products for human health, well-being and nutrition, in addition to industrial products refined from cannabis. Hercules Pharmaceuticals is focused on X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development.

For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com

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. 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, 2013, filed on January 30, 2014, 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.

Redington, Inc.Tom Redington, 203-222-7399

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