XXII 22nd Century Group Inc

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII), a leading plant-based biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco, and hemp/cannabis research, is pleased to announce that it will be added to the Russell 2000®, Russell 3000®, and Russell Global Indexes at the conclusion of the Russell US Indexes annual reconstitution, effective at the opening of the U.S. equity markets on June 28, 2021.

“It is an honor to join the Russell 2000 Index this year, a meaningful milestone that we believe acknowledges our Company’s strong growth and progress on stated initiatives, and reflects the market’s confidence in our new leadership team, innovative strategies, and diligent financial execution,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group. “Over the past year, we have taken important strides that have had a significant favorable impact on the value of our Company and our stature and influence in the tobacco and plant science industries. We have built an accomplished, highest caliber leadership team with proven success in high-growth, highly regulated, consumer-facing industries. We have unveiled new strategies leveraging our core strengths in plant science, including positioning our Company as the potential linchpin technology provider in the upstream segment of the cannabinoid value chain as that industry evolves toward mass production. Further, we have taken decisive actions in optimizing our operating structure, while carefully managing our capital resources and securing ample financial runway for the future.

“We have strong winds at our backs as we move ahead with strategic initiatives for our three exciting franchises – tobacco, hemp/cannabis, and a third plant-based franchise. Our combined market opportunity is more than $1.3 trillion across these three markets, with well-established growth opportunities layered in from now through the next several years. We believe our timely inclusion in the Russell 2000 Index will raise visibility and public awareness of 22nd Century as an attractive investment in tobacco harm reduction and market-leading hemp/cannabis research.”

FTSE Russell determines membership for its Russell indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes. Approximately $9 trillion in assets are benchmarked against Russell’s US indexes. Russell indexes are part of FTSE Russell, a leading global index provider.

For more information on the Russell indexes reconstitution, go to the “Russell Reconstitution” section on the FTSE Russell website.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE American: XXII) is a leading plant biotechnology company focused on technologies that alter the level of nicotine in tobacco plants and the level of cannabinoids in hemp/cannabis plants through genetic engineering, gene-editing, and modern plant breeding. 22nd Century’s primary mission in tobacco is to reduce the harm caused by smoking through the Company’s proprietary reduced nicotine content tobacco cigarettes – containing 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarettes. The Company’s primary mission in hemp/cannabis is to develop and commercialize proprietary hemp/cannabis plants with valuable cannabinoid profiles and desirable agronomic traits.

Learn more at xxiicentury.com, on Twitter @_xxiicentury, and on LinkedIn.

About FTSE Russell

FTSE Russell is a leading global index provider creating and managing a wide range of indexes, data and analytic solutions to meet client needs across asset classes, style and strategies. Covering 98% of the investable market, FTSE Russell indexes offer a true picture of global markets, combined with the specialist knowledge gained from developing local benchmarks around the world.

FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. Approximately $16 trillion is currently benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes. For over 30 years, leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks have chosen FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create investment funds, ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives. FTSE Russell indexes also provide clients with tools for asset allocation, investment strategy analysis and risk management.

A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: a transparent rules-based methodology is informed by independent committees of leading market participants. FTSE Russell is focused on index innovation and customer partnership applying the highest industry standards and embracing the IOSCO Principles. FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group.

For more information, visit www.ftserussell.com.  

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsExcept 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 11, 2021. 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 KuoDirector, Communications & Investor Relations22nd Century Group, Inc.(716) 300-1221mkuo@xxiicentury.com