Altria, Reynolds, Lorillard, & Philip Morris Ordered to Issue Corrective Statements on Nicotine Addiction; 22nd Century’s P...
May 29 2018 - 9:45AM
Business Wire
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII), a plant
biotechnology company that is a leader in tobacco harm reduction
and Very Low Nicotine tobacco, announced that on May 1, 2018, a
federal court ordered Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and
Philip Morris USA to issue statements to correct marketing that
deliberately deceived the public about the addictiveness and health
risks of smoking. This most recent federal action requires the
defendants to issue no fewer than 18 corrective statements by June
18, 2018, on their websites and on cigarette pack inserts.
The federal court ruling makes certain that the public will be
made aware of the harm caused by smoking. Some of the corrective
statements that the defendants will be required to post
include:
“Smoking is highly addictive. Nicotine is the
addictive drug in tobacco.”
“Cigarette companies intentionally designed
cigarettes with enough nicotine to create and sustain
addiction.”
“It’s not easy to quit.”
“Many smokers switch to low tar and light
cigarettes rather than quitting because they think low tar and
light cigarettes are less harmful. They are not.”
“Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard,
and Philip Morris USA intentionally designed cigarettes to make
them more addictive.”
In contrast to the highly addictive tobacco cigarettes marketed
by Big Tobacco companies, 22nd Century’s Very Low Nicotine (VLN TM)
proprietary tobacco and technology make possible tobacco cigarettes
with a nicotine content of just 0.4mg/g, which is more than 95%
less nicotine than conventional cigarettes (conventional cigarettes
contain 20 mg/g on average). The World Health Organization (WHO)
Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation, the ANPRM published by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and highly respected
scientists across the United States have all pointed to tobacco
with a nicotine content at or about 0.4mg/g as being “minimally or
non-addictive.”
Decades of deceptive statements by Big Tobacco companies have
led many American smokers to believe that so-called “light” or
“smooth” cigarettes contain less nicotine or were less addictive,
which is simply not true. National tobacco brands that advertised
“low nicotine,” “light,” “ultra-light” or “smooth” styles in the
past were referring to the smoking machine-measured nicotine yield
of cigarettes. The FDA, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the
public health community at large have determined that the yield
method of nicotine measurement is wholly unreliable and gives no
indication of actual nicotine intake because smokers engage in
“compensatory behavior” by smoking more cigarettes when using low
nicotine yield cigarettes and do not actually achieve reduced
nicotine intake. For precisely this reason, the FDA banned the
terms “light,” “ultra-light,” “low tar” and other terms from being
used with respect to combustible cigarettes so that tobacco
companies could no longer mislead consumers.
“22nd Century’s Very Low Nicotine tobacco smokes and tastes like
conventional tobacco, but contains just a fraction of the
nicotine,” explained Henry Sicignano, III, President and Chief
Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group. “Big Tobacco has spent the
last 50 years taking advantage of the highly addictive nature of
cigarette smoking. In stark contrast, 22nd Century’s proprietary
Very Low Nicotine tobacco could render all cigarettes sold in the
United States only minimally or non-addictive.”
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
hemp/cannabis plants through genetic engineering and plant
breeding. The Company’s primary mission in tobacco is to reduce the
harm caused by smoking. The Company’s primary mission in
hemp/cannabis is to develop proprietary hemp strains for important
new medicines and agricultural crops. Visit www.xxiicentury.com and
www.botanicalgenetics.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, 2017, filed on March 7, 2018,
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: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180529005688/en/
22nd Century GroupJames Vail, Director of
Communications716-270-1523jvail@xxiicentury.com
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