22nd Century Ready to Support Kiwi Plan
22nd Century Group announced today that it is ready to provide commercial support to the New Zealand Ministry of Health’s Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 Action Plan, including supplying reduced nicotine content combustible cigarettes able to meet New Zealand’s proposed standards.
The final version of the plan introduced on Dec. 9 details comprehensive measures to reduce smoking, including legislation to implement a reduced nicotine mandate.
“We applaud the bold plans in New Zealand, which is now leading the world in introducing novel and highly effective tobacco control strategies to end cigarette addiction,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group, in a statement.
“This is an ambitious plan, and reduced nicotine content cigarettes such as our VLN products will be critical to its success. We are fully prepared to support New Zealand and its Smokefree Plan as it blazes a trail for other health agencies around the world to follow, including the United States FDA and the World Health Organization,”
New Zealand’s plan details six key focus areas, the fourth of which is: “Making it easier to quit and harder to become addicted by only having low-level nicotine smoked tobacco products for sale and restricting product design features that increase their appeal and addictiveness.”
With just 0.5 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco, 22nd Century’s VLN reduced nicotine content cigarettes contain 95 percent less nicotine than conventional cigarettes, but they taste, smell and smoke the same, according to 22nd Century Group.
22nd Century’s modified-risk tobacco product application is currently in the final stage with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the company says it remains highly confident of a positive outcome given its recent dialogue with the agency.