• Partnership Expands the Availability of VLN^® Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes to Specialty Point of Sale Retail Sites across Colorado

BUFFALO, N.Y., Oct. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XXII), a leading agricultural biotechnology company dedicated to improving health with reduced nicotine tobacco, hemp/cannabis, and hops advanced plant technologies, today announced that the Company has added Creager Mercantile as a distribution partner to expand availability and support for its VLN^® reduced nicotine content cigarette products in the state of Colorado.

Operating since 1958, Creager is a well-known wholesale supplier for a wide array of cigarette retailers including hospital gift shops, gas stations, and tobacco shops across the state. The company supports more than 1,000 stores across numerous specialty and retail store brands. Combined with 22nd Century’s previously announced partnership with Eagle Rock Distributing Company, the Company now has access to thousands of potential retail sites across the state that could be serviced by its VLN^® distribution partners.

22nd Century Group’s proprietary VLN^® cigarettes smoke, smell, and taste like a cigarette but contain approximately 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarettes, a level shown to be non-addictive. As noted on the packaging, VLN^® is the only cigarette in the world purposefully designed to “Help You Smoke Less.”

“We are excited to work with 22nd Century Group to make VLN^® available to adult smokers in Colorado who are looking for a new way to cut their ties to nicotine,” said Chip Creager, President of Creager Mercantile. “Creager supports a diverse array of specialty stores, often advising retailers on the best new products to add to their shelves. We believe that VLN^®’s uniqueness as the first and only cigarette designed specifically to help smokers smoke less makes it an important and attractive product for adult smokers, and we will be actively working with our retail partners to launch VLN^® to their stores in the coming months.”

“Creager opens up an entire additional channel of specialty retail and tobacco suppliers across the state of Colorado, and its direct role in product recommendations and store support make it an ideal partner for 22nd Century’s VLN^® rollout,” said John J. Miller, president of 22nd Century’s Tobacco Business. “We look forward to working directly with Creager to place VLN^® on as many shelves as possible, making our important new product broadly available in as many locations as possible where traditional combustible cigarettes are sold.”

More information about Creager can be found online at https://creagermerc.com/.

22nd Century Group’s decision to launch in Colorado follows the exceptional pilot results in Chicago and the Company’s plans to have distribution and retail partnerships in place to support the expanding availability of VLN^® to adult smokers across the country. The Chicago pilot demonstrated that in-store outreach was highly effective, and once adult smokers had tried VLN^®, the vast majority were quick to recommend VLN^® to other adult smokers. Specialty distribution such as Creager, which supports additional functions such as merchandising and product advice, expands the awareness of VLN^®’s highly differentiated value proposition in key retail channels.

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 MRTP authorization of 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 1, 2022, and in the Company’s Quarterly Report filed on August 9, 2022. 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
Mei Kuo
22nd Century Group, Inc.
Director, Communications & Investor Relations
[email protected]

Darrow Associates Investor Relations
Matt Kreps
T: 214-597-8200
[email protected]

This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.

• Announces $35 Million Above Market Financing
• Bolsters Company’s Position with Ongoing Strategic Discussions

BUFFALO, N.Y., July 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XXII), a leading agricultural biotechnology company dedicated to improving human health with reduced nicotine tobacco, hemp/cannabis, and hops advanced plant technologies, announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with several institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 17,073,175 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $2.05 per share in a registered direct offering priced above market under Nasdaq rules. The Company also agreed to issue to the investors unregistered warrants to purchase up to 17,073,175 shares of common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $2.05 per share, are immediately exercisable and will expire five years following the date of issuance. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about July 25, 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The Company intends to use proceeds from the capital raise to accelerate and expand the launch of its VLN^® reduced nicotine content cigarettes in additional U.S. markets. 22nd Century’s VLN King and VLN Menthol King cigarettes contain 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarettes and are authorized as FDA Modified Risk Tobacco Products (MRTP) that “Help You Smoke Less.” The Company is also evaluating accretive strategic actions to bring further scale its business.

“The results of our Chicago VLN^® pilot with Circle K have been very positive. We are now testing specific incentive programs including couponing designed to encourage adult smokers to try VLN as a means to help them smoke less,” said John Miller, President of 22nd Century Group’s tobacco products. “Based on the early results of our pilot, in addition to expanding availability with our existing partners, we are now engaged with multiple parties that have approached us seeking to launch our disruptive VLN^® products into additional markets and channels.”

“Only as one example, we are in discussion with a large distribution partner in Colorado with extensive coverage of convenience, supermarket and drug stores throughout the state. This prospective partner is eager to incorporate our VLN^® products into its distribution network. The combination of a favorable MRTP tax policy and proactive partner make this an attractive state for launch even before the pilot is complete.”

Additionally, the Company provided an update on its integration of GVB Biopharma, which the company acquired in May 2022. The integration process is advancing ahead of schedule, with steady market activity across GVB’s growing business lines. Proceeds from this transaction are not intended for the GVB business. “The integration of GVB – which doubled our revenue in a single transaction – continues to advance ahead of plan,” said James A. Mish, Chief Executive Officer. “We now offer the most complete hemp/cannabis solution in the world, from 22nd Century’s core expertise in receptor science and transformative plant genetics to GVB’s leading position in finished ingredients and CDMO formulated products. Customers and new potential customers are taking note, driving real growth in this business as our combined capabilities drive new momentum on several key opportunities, including the ramp up of new revenue opportunities.

The Special Equities Group (SEG), a division of Dawson James Securities, Inc., acted as sole placement agent for the transaction. Roth Capital Partners acted as a financial advisor.

Full terms of the financing agreement can be found in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About 22^nd Century Group, Inc.
22^nd 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 regulate 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 MRTP authorization of 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 other valuable agronomic traits.

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

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 1, 2022. 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:
Mei Kuo
22nd Century Group, Inc.
Director, Communications & Investor Relations
T: 716-300-1221
[email protected]

Darrow Associates Investor Relations
Matt Kreps
T: 214-597-8200
[email protected]

This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.