30 TOBACCO BUSINESS | MARCH / APRIL | 22 The World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 billion of the world’s population are tobacco users. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2019 it was estimated that 34.1 million of those 1.3 billion users were smokers living in the U.S. Many of us have a family member or friend that at one point has tried to quit smoking or at least smoke less. However, there are several reasons quitting smoking or cutting back is hard. One of the biggest reasons is nicotine’s effect on the brain. When someone smokes a cigarette, it takes just seven seconds for nicotine to reach the brain. Once there, nicotine then activates different neurotransmitters, many of which are responsible for the reduction of tension, anxiety and pleasure. Without cessation support, only 4 percent of attempts to quit tobacco will succeed. There have been few Reduced Risk Products (RRPs) and Tobacco Harm Reduction products available on the market containing low levels of nicotine—until now. 22nd Century Group (XXII), a global pioneer in tobacco harm reduction products, is a plant biotechnology company focused on technologies that alter the level of nicotine in tobacco plants and the level of cannabinoids in hemp/cannabis plants. This is done through genetic engineering, gene-editing, and modern plant breeding. 22nd Century’s primary mission in tobacco is to reduce the harm caused by cigarette smoking. 22nd Century’s VLN reduced nicotine tobacco cigarettes contain 95 percent less nicotine than conventional cigarettes and can help break your dependence on nicotine. Here’s what 22nd Century’s Vice President of Trade Marketing, John Ellegate, had to say about the benefits of VLN and why retailers need to carry this exciting new product today. Q: Tell us about VLN?What makes Modified Risk Tobacco Products (MRTPs) different? A: VLN is the first cigarette in the world that is not designed to create or sustain nicotine addiction. Utilizing proprietary tobacco developed, bred and grown in the United States, and manufactured in the heart of American Tobacco Country, VLN Tobacco smokes, smells and tastes just like a conventional cigarette, but the tobacco blend contains 95 percent less nicotine. In 2021 the FDA authorized 22nd Century Group, Inc. an MRTP for VLN as the first combustible tobacco cigarette that helps adult smokers smoke less. To date, the FDA has only authorized three products with an MRTP designation, including Philip Morris and Swedish Match. What makes VLN so special is the fact that it’s a tobacco cigarette that contains 95 percent less nicotine. We are not a herbal cigarette that does not satisfy the adult tobacco cigarette smoker. The following claims have been authorized by the FDA to market VLN cigarettes to adult smokers: • Helps you smoke less • Greatly reduces your nicotine consumption • Helps reduce your nicotine consumption • 95 percent less nicotine Q: Why should retailers carry these products? What kind of customer base can they attract with VLN products? A: Licensed tobacco retailers across the United States should carry MRTP products, but specifically VLN because VLN customers are high margin customers who are seeking alternative tobacco products to traditional highly addictive cigarettes. It’s also simply the right thing to do. As the VP of Trade Marketing at 22nd Century Group, I am excited to announce that we will soon be launching our Pilot Market. VLN is a premium priced product, with premiummargins, in the largest tobacco category: combustible cigarettes. Many of the retailers who reached out to us were moved by the mission of the VLN brand, which is to help adult smokers who want to smoke less and gain control over their nicotine consumption. Q: How can retailers follow up for more information? A: We are ecstatic to launch our Pilot in the United States this year. After the Pilot we will be working with select retailers who are interested in pioneering the MRTP Product Set. I’ve enjoyed over a 40-year career at Reynolds and Kretek International having witnessed the evolution from the cigarette rack, to the addition of the “OTP” or Other Tobacco Products section, to the “ITP” or Innovative Tobacco Products section, and now I believe we are witnessing the evolution of the beginning of the Modified Risk Tobacco Products section at Tobacco Retail. It’s been an unbelievable ride from investor who believed in the mission, to Vice President of Trade Marketing at 22nd Century Group. Thank you to all the retailers who have reached out to me to innovate and pioneer theMRTPSection at Retail. If you are interested in becoming a fellow pioneer, sign up at TryVLN.com or at XXIICentury.com. —22nd Century Group is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ as XXII. T A PREMIUMPRODUCT OFFERING PREMIUMMARGINS John Ellegate, Vice President of Trade Marketing, 22nd Century Group With the FDA’s Modified Risk Tobacco Products (MRTP) approval, 22nd Century Group’s Very Low Nicotine (VLN) combustible cigarettes offer tobacco retailers big margins while breaking consumer addiction to nicotine at the same time. By: Ben Stimpson
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