CLARENCE, N.Y. - Monday, June 16th 2014 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII) today announced that the Company will join the Russell 3000, Russell 2000, Russell Global and Russell Microcap Indexes when Russell Investments (Russell) reconstitutes its U.S. and global equity indexes on June 27, 2014. Russell’s announcement of its annual reconstitution of these Russell indexes, which included 22nd Century Group, was listed on the Russell website on Friday, June 13, 2014, after the U.S. stock market closed.

“We are pleased to be added to various Russell Indexes. Our inclusion will generate further interest in the Company’s stock among those investors in the investment community who may be less familiar with 22nd Century Group,” stated Joseph Pandolfino, the Company’s Founder and CEO. He added, “One goal of 22nd Century Group’s management is to be included in the Russell 1000 Index within 3 years.”

Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes. Russell Indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both active and passive investment strategies. As of March 31, 2014, Russell has more than $259 billion in assets under management and works with over 2,500 institutional clients, independent distribution partners and individual investors globally. Approximately $5.2 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell Indexes.

About the Russell Indexes to which 22nd Century Group has been added:

Russell 3000 Index

Measures the performance of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies representing approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. The Russell 3000 Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive, unbiased and stable barometer of the broad market and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure new and growing equities are reflected. The Russell 1000, which measures the performance of the large-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe, and Russell 2000 are subsets of the Russell 3000.

Russell 2000 Index

Measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity market. The Russell 2000 Index is a subset of the Russell 3000 Index and represents approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000. It includes approximately 2000 small-cap companies based on a combination of their market cap and current index membership. The Russell 2000 is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased small-cap barometer and is completely reconstituted annually to ensure larger stocks do not distort the performance and characteristics of the true small-cap opportunity set.

Russell Global Index

Measures the performance of the global equity market based on all investable equity securities. All securities in the Russell Global Index are classified according to size, region, country, and sector, as a result the index can be segmented into thousands of distinct benchmarks. The Russell Global index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the global segment and is completely reconstituted annually to accurately reflect the changes in the market over time. The Russell 3000 serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index.

Russell Microcap Index

Measures the performance of the microcap segment of the U.S. equity market. Microcap stocks make up less than 3% of the U.S. equity market (by market cap) and consist of the smallest 1,000 securities in the small-cap Russell 2000 Index, plus the next 1,000 smallest eligible securities by market cap. The Russell Microcap Index is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the microcap segment trading on national exchanges. The Index is completely reconstituted annually to ensure that new and growing equities are reflected.

About 22nd Century Group, Inc.

22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary technology allows for the levels of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids (e.g., nornicotine, anatabine and anabasine) in the tobacco plant to be decreased or increased through genetic engineering and plant breeding. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 116 issued patents in 78 countries plus an additional 42 pending patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco Company, LLC and Hercules Pharmaceuticals, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of 22nd Century. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco products and potentially less harmful cigarettes. Hercules Pharmaceuticals is focused on X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development.

For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking information, including all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this press release. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed on January 30, 2014, including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those expected or projected.

Contacts

Redington, Inc.

Tom Redington, 203-222-7399

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