XXII investing in expanded marketing initiatives to drive VLN^® brand awareness and growth

MOCKSVILLE, N.C., July 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:XXII), a tobacco products company focused on reducing the harms of smoking through nicotine reduction, today announced the appointment of Katherine Rouse-Bailey as Vice President of Marketing. The enhanced marketing initiatives are designed to strengthen brand awareness, increase consumer trial and support retail sell-through across the Company’s growing commercial footprint.

"We are sharpening our focus on marketing and VLN^® cigarette brand awareness to drive trial and support repeat purchase," said Larry Firestone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group. "We believe the addition of Katherine to the team will greatly enhance the marketing tools in our toolbox which will materially strengthen our commercial position in the back half of 2026 and beyond. Katherine brings deep consumer health and brand-building expertise, a strong record of bringing meaningful innovation to market, and a data-driven approach that we believe will help elevate our marketing effectiveness, deepen consumer connection and support stronger retail performance."

Mrs. Rouse-Bailey is a results-driven marketing leader in the consumer health sector with 20 years of experience building iconic brands, bringing meaningful innovation to market, and delivering revenue and market share growth. She has managed large consumer brand portfolios across Johnson & Johnson, Galderma (formerly Nestlé Skin Health) and Nestlé Health Science. She is known for leveraging a data-driven approach to uncover consumer insights, executing integrated multi-channel marketing initiatives, and building long-term business strategies. Mrs. Rouse-Bailey holds an MBA from Clark Atlanta University and bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry and Chemistry from North Carolina State University.

"The addition of Katherine demonstrates the investments we are making as we continue to build the foundation of our growth company. These investments reflect where we are in our evolution as a company," Firestone added. "We have built a differentiated platform, and now we are increasing our emphasis on the marketing programs, consumer-facing capabilities and leadership talent that can help us reach more adult smokers and better support our retail partners. We have already established an initial base of VLN^® cigarette smokers from the launch in Q4 2025 that has been growing month over month. We are now driving expanded awareness to continue to drive that growth."

The Company believes these second-half 2026 marketing initiatives build on the momentum of its expanding VLN^® and Pinnacle^® brands, as well as a much broader VLN^® commercialization strategy. 22nd Century remains focused on disciplined execution and growing awareness of its products through targeted, effective marketing support.

FDA Authorization and Scientific Foundation

22^nd Century VLN^® low nicotine combustible cigarettes were authorized in December 2021, making them the first and still the only combustible cigarettes authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically to help reduce nicotine consumption.

Decades of independent clinical research and peer-reviewed studies—evaluated as part of the FDA’s Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) authorization process—demonstrated that reducing nicotine content can decrease nicotine intake, increase quit attempts, and reduce overall exposure to nicotine.

FDA-authorized VLN^® claims include:

"95% less nicotine"
"Helps reduce your nicotine consumption"
"Greatly reduces your nicotine consumption"
"Helps you smoke less"

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century Group is pioneering the Tobacco Harm Reduction and Nicotine Reduction Movements by enabling smokers to take control of their nicotine consumption.

Our Technology is Tobacco

Our proprietary non-GMO reduced nicotine tobacco plants were developed using our patented technologies that regulate alkaloid biosynthesis activities resulting in a tobacco plant that contains 95% less nicotine than traditional tobacco plants. Our extensive patent portfolio has been developed to ensure that our-high-quality tobacco can be grown commercially at scale. We continue to develop our intellectual property to ensure our ongoing leadership in the tobacco harm reduction movement.

Our Products

We created our flagship product, the VLN^® cigarette using our low nicotine tobacco, to give traditional cigarette smokers an authentic and familiar alternative in the form of a combustible cigarette that helps them take control of their nicotine consumption. VLN^® cigarettes have 95% less nicotine compared to traditional cigarettes and have been proven to allow consumers to greatly reduce their nicotine consumption.

VLN^® and Helps You Smoke Less^® are registered trademarks of 22nd Century Limited LLC.

Learn more at xxiicentury.com, on X (formerly 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, including but not limited to our full year business outlook. 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. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding (i) our expectations regarding regulatory enforcement, including our ability to receive authorization or approval for new products, and (ii) our financial and operating performance. 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 26, 2026 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed May 7, 2026. 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

Daniel Otto

Chief Financial Officer & Investor Relations

22nd Century Group

investorrelations@xxiicentury.com