[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]22nd Century Group, Inc. (OTCQB: XXII, http://goo.gl/7CavNZ) today announced that Goodrich Tobacco Company, its wholly-owned subsidiary, has delivered an additional 5.5 million SPECTRUM® government research cigarettes. SPECTRUM was developed by 22nd Century for NIDA, a department of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).

As the only company in the world capable of producing very low nicotine (VLN) tobacco products, 22nd Century was chosen by NIDA to supply its proprietary cigarettes as a subcontractor under a federal government contract. The main SPECTRUM product line consists of a series of cigarette styles that have a fixed “tar” yield but varying nicotine yields over a 50-fold range - from very low to high. Altogether, SPECTRUM features 24 styles, 11 regular and 13 menthol versions, with 8 different levels of nicotine content. SPECTRUM is strictly for research purposes and will not be sold as a commercial cigarette.

Including this shipment, Goodrich Tobacco has thus far delivered more than 17 million SPECTRUM cigarettes to NIDA, equating to 850,000 packs of 20 cigarettes. NIDA distributes SPECTRUM free of charge to researchers carrying out independent studies.

Many research studies are being conducted with SPECTRUM. The research includes: (i) exposure studies comparing how different nicotine levels in cigarettes affect smoking behavior and exposure to smoke compounds, (ii) smoking cessation studies, and (iii) studies to determine whether there is a threshold nicotine level in cigarettes which does not produce dependence. Most of these studies would be very difficult, if not impossible, to conduct without SPECTRUM.

22nd Century will use the results from these studies, along with its own research studies, to support two modified risk (reduced-risk) applications it plans to file with the U.S. Food and Drug administration (FDA) in 2014 for two types of cigarettes in development - BRAND A and BRAND B. Compared to commercial cigarettes, BRAND A has approximately 95% less nicotine than cigarettes previously marketed as “lights,” and BRAND B’s smoke contains an extraordinary low amount of “tar” per milligram of nicotine.