22nd Century Group (Nasdaq: XXII) Announces John J. Miller Joins Its Tobacco Business

Highly Regarded for His Extensive Sales and Marketing Experience in the Tobacco Industry

Expands and Further Strengthens the Company’s Team of Tobacco Industry Experts

BUFFALO, N.Y., May 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ), a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco, and improving health and wellness through modern plant science, today announced John J. Miller will direct the growth and achieve the full potential of the Company’s reduced nicotine tobacco business. Mr. Miller has more than 35 years of experience in the tobacco and consumer packaged goods industries. He has demonstrated his ability to develop high performance work environments that have achieved a very strong track record of success and superior commercial results. Mr. Miller will work directly with Jim Mish, Chief Executive Officer and also with Michael Zercher, Chief Operating Officer of 22nd Century Group.

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome John Miller to our team,” said Mish, “His significant hands-on expertise and insight in strategic planning, assessing and implementing strategic partnership opportunities, and leading sales and marketing efforts will be instrumental in accelerating revenue, profit, and market share growth for the Company. We look forward to John’s contributions to the success of the Company’s launch of VLN^®, our reduced nicotine cigarettes with 95% less nicotine than conventional cigarettes, which is the first and only modified risk tobacco product (MRTP) approved by the FDA.”

John Miller said, “I am extremely impressed with the team of outstanding professionals at 22nd Century Group and their commitment to product innovation. I am very enthusiastic to be joining the Company at this pivotal time in its history and leading the VLN^® initiative on the heels of the product’s successful pilot launch. VLN^® is a transformative brand, with tremendous market potential. I am incredibly optimistic about the meaningful difference it could make in the lives of people to help them smoke less.”

Most recently, Mr. Miller was the President and CEO of Swisher International, Inc., a 160-year-old leading lifestyle brands company that is the largest manufacturer and exporter of cigars and smokeless tobacco products in America. Mr. Miller joined Swisher in November of 2012 as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, was promoted to President in 2017 and named CEO in March 2021.

Mr. Miller’s experience also includes more than 20 years in various management positions at US Smokeless Tobacco Co. As Regional Vice President, he had direct oversight and responsibility for all sales, planning and operations for key brands in the Western United States. US Smokeless Tobacco Co. was acquired by Altria in 2009.

Mr. Miller holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from UNLV and earned an MBA from Pepperdine University, The George L. Graziadio School of Business Management.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ) 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  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.

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Learn more about VLN^® at .

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

Darrow Associates Investor Relations

Matt Kreps

T: 214-597-8200